Disclosure
by Airam4u
Summary: COMPLETE Why would the President grant Sam and Jack an exception to the regs? A crossover with Jack Ryan novels by Tom Clancy.
1. Prologue

**Disclosure** - Why the President would amend the rules for Jack and Sam. A crossover with Tom Clancy's novels.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Stargate characters or concepts. I am merely borrowing them. I am also borrowing several characters from the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy (up through Executive Orders). I have the utmost respect for Mr. Clancy, so any mischaracterization of them is my fault.  
  
Genre: Adventure, Drama  
  
Pairing: Sam and Jack of course!  
  
Spoilers: For Stargate SG-1, all the way up through Season Seven and the first episodes of Season Eight where Jack takes over the SGC. Jack Ryan Novels, up through and including Executive Orders (and a spoiler from The Bear and the Dragon, Robbie is VP).  
  
Timeline: So, I have taken a few liberties with this to combine the two worlds. Stargate timeline- this is about three and a half years after the end of season seven where President Hayes has been recently inaugurated. Jack Ryan timeline- this is probably in the early summer before he himself is elected as President, between Executive Orders and The Bear and the Dragon. One of the big liberties I have taken in combining the two worlds: President Hayes from Season Seven of Stargate is President Durling from Tom Clancy's novels. So in conclusion, Jack O'Neill has been head of the SGC for three years now and it's been ten years since the beginning of the series. Jack Ryan has been President for about eight months.  
  
Author's Notes: So the idea of this crossover came from reading "A New Life" by Brenna (I highly recommend this story!) The idea of writing a story about Presidential intervention came from reading a whole bunch of stories where the President gives them an exemption, I always wonder why? There'd have to be a personal connection right? He'd have to have met them right?  
  
Also, I will try my best to clearly distinguish Jack O'Neill and Jack Ryan. If I just use Jack, hopefully the context will be clear so you know which one I am referring to.  
  
I hope you enjoy this. Please send me any and all types of reviews (comments and critiques). Well, on with the story!

* * *

The White House

It was after eight o'clock when General Hammond stepped into the office. The man behind the desk looked up when he heard his door being opened, unannounced. A slight smile appeared on his face when he saw George, "General, how the hell are you?"  
  
"I told you to call me George Arnie!" he teasingly chastised his friend as he held his hand out and shook hands.  
  
"Not when you're in uniform!" he retorted. "How are things over at the Pentagon?" he cautiously asked him.  
  
Hammond let out a deep sigh, "It's getting harder and harder! I'm glad we're finally doing this… How the hell did we do this the past eight months Arnie?" he asked him unsure himself.  
  
What they had done was keep the biggest secret on the planet a secret from even their own government over the past few months, ever since that fateful night in October when a crazed JAL pilot had crashed his plane into a Joint Session of Congress. They had kept an organization run by the United States Air Force a secret from the new President, the new Congress that had been elected, the new Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the recently confirmed Vice President. There were only three people in official Washington who knew about Stargate Command: General George Hammond, former CO of the SGC; Major Paul Davis, liaison between the SGC and the Joint Chiefs; and Arnold Van Damn, Chief of Staff to the last two presidents and, now, the current Commander in Chief of the United States who had been unexpectedly promoted.  
  
Before that night in October, there were quite a few people in Washington who knew about the SGC and their mission. But that night, the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Joints Chiefs, their aides, and almost a thousand other innocent victims died in the fireball that had become the Unites States Capitol building.  
  
Once things had reasonably settled down after the incident, Arnie had met with Paul and George on how to proceed. They had decided that it was too dangerous to let anyone know about the program. Besides, it wasn't like they could report anything to Congress, and the ones who were newly elected were too wet behind the ears to hear something so vital as the SGC. With respect to the President, and the Cabinet he was forming, they knew he had enough on his plate. And besides, they didn't know if he would be there after the next election. Luckily the SGC's budget for the coming year had already been approved, so they could operate under the radar, albeit carefully and with a lot of side-stepping done by Major Davis and General Hammond over at the Pentagon.  
  
But now, things were different. President John 'Jack' Patrick Ryan had finally gotten his best friend, Rear Admiral Robert 'Robbie' Jackson, USN Retired, confirmed by Congress as his Vice President. There was now an official Washington and an established line of succession to the presidency. After recent polls showed Jack Ryan with a twenty-point lead over his challenger for the Presidential election in November, the three co-conspirators had concluded that Jack Ryan would indeed be their next President for the next four years, and it was time to let him in on the secret that was the SGC.  
  
Arnie shook his head, "I don't know George… But after tonight, we'll either still have our jobs or be brought up on charges of treason!"  
  
George looked at the Chief of Staff, who he now called a friend and colleague, seriously, "How will he react?"  
  
"He's a historian and an analyst… And he understands National Security…"  
  
George chuckled, "Hopefully he'll understand Global Security!"  
  
Arnie laughed as he stood up and called Mrs. Ellen Sumter, executive secretary to the President. As he waited for her to pick up, he smiled at George, "I hope so too… Mrs. Sumter, is the President done with his meeting?… Okay, thank you very much." He replaced the receiver and walked around the desk to lead George to the adjoining Oval Office. "I guess it's time to find out…"  
  
TBC


	2. Meeting?

Disclaimers and timelines and the like are found in Chapter 1.

* * *

__

_He replaced the receiver and walked around the desk to lead George to the adjoining Oval Office. "I guess it's time to find out…"_  
  
George took a deep breath as he followed Arnie down the private adjoining hall connecting the two offices. "Jack, I need to talk to you," Arnie called out as he led George in.  
  
President Jack Ryan looked up from the briefcase he was packing up, "What is it Arnie? I'm tired and I want to go see my family," he tiredly told him before noticing the Air Force general following his chief of staff.  
  
"We have a meeting," Arnie succinctly told him.  
  
Jack was startled as he looked down at his desk schedule and then up at his head of security, Andrea Price. She was as shocked as he was; she wanted to pull her own copy of his itinerary out but stopped herself because there was an unknown man in the room with her charge. Jack looked back at Arnie and the general, "What meeting?"  
  
"One that isn't on the books, sir. Sorry, I had to keep this one quiet, even from you." He saw Andrea take a step closer, "You too, I'm sorry," he told her as he looked over at her. "Jack, this is General George Hammond, there's something we need to tell you."  
  
George stepped forward to shake hands with the President, out of the corner of his eye he saw the Secret Service agent take an even bigger step closer, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. President."  
  
Jack shook his hand as he looked at the faces of the three occupants in the room, "Uh… yeah… Arnie what's going on?"  
  
"Jack, we need to talk in private," he told him as he indicated Agent Price with his eyes.  
  
Jack squinted his eyes as he stared at Arnie. He was about to speak when Andrea interrupted him, "I don't leave this room Mr. President." Jack looked at her questioningly, Andrea explained, "With all due respect Mr. Van Damn, I don't know General Hammond. And I like the fact that neither the President nor I knew about this meeting even less. I'm here to protect you sir… No disrespect General."  
  
Arnold was about to protest, but Hammond spoke up first, "None taken, ma'am. Let her stay Arnie. I have to warn you both, that what we are about to reveal to you is the most tightly guarded secret in the world, there are only three people here in Washington that know the whole story of what I am going to tell you Mr. President."  
  
Jack was interested now, "What is it?"  
  
Hammond spoke again, "No disrespect to you ma'am, but sir, do you trust her?"  
  
"Agent Price is the head of my security detail, I trust her with my life," Jack smiled.  
  
"General, I don't tell anyone about what I see."  
  
"Not even the rest of the agents on his detail?"  
  
"Generally, no…  
  
"Well you're not going to tell them what we discuss here."  
  
"General-" she was interrupted though by Arnie  
  
"Andrea, this is serious stuff!"  
  
She looked at them wide-eyed. She then looked at the President, who was silently analyzing General Hammond. "Andrea, it doesn't leave this room," he quietly ordered her.  
  
Arnie spoke again, ready for the assault he would get from the Secret Service agent again, "I've also had all other monitoring equipment in this room turned off."  
  
"You what?" Andrea yelled as she brought her hand mike up to her mouth to find out what was going on.  
  
"Wait Andrea" Jack ordered her. He didn't know why, but he trusted the General in front of him; perhaps it was all his time he spent as an analyst.  
  
"Sir!"  
  
It was now Arnie's turn to speak up, "Andrea, turning off all recording devices has been standard procedure for the past ten years whenever discussing what we're about to reveal."  
  
"What?" now it was Jack's turn to be startled. "What the hell have you been keeping from me Arnie?" he demanded of his chief of staff.  
  
"Calm down Mr. President. Now, more than ever, I need you to be calm and listen." Arnie glared at his President. He knew he would win, he often did.  
  
Jack stared at the pair in front of him for a long minute. He then turned to Andrea and nodded his head before coming around his desk and leading Arnie and George to the couches in the center of the room. "Okay, you have my complete attention," he told them as he sat down.  
  
TBC

Again, please let me know what you think.


	3. Disclosure

A/N: Wow!! Thank you all for the reviews! I haven't gotten this type of response to any of my other stories! I honestly wasn't sure what the response to this story would be like, especially after just the first two chapters. Your reviews are extremely encouraging to have me finish this story.  
  
Thank you dapper, I really appreciate your review (you're right about Arnie's last name-thanks for catching that!).  
  
And now...

* * *

_"Okay, you have my complete attention," he told them as he sat down.  
_  
Arnie and George looked at each other as they sat down. Arnie nodded at George to have him start off. "Mr. President, as I said earlier, what I'm about to tell you is known by only a handful of people here in DC. I should start with some history… In 1917, the greatest discovery on Earth was made in Giza, Egypt," he began as he pulled out several folders from his briefcase and started to pull out a few pictures. "They found this," he told the President as he laid a picture of the SGC's Stargate on the table.  
  
Jack leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees as he looked at the picture. Andrea herself even subtly leaned in to look at the picture. "What is it?"  
  
"That, Mr. President, is a Stargate. It is a piece of alien technology used to travel instantly between different planets across the galaxy."  
  
Two pairs of eyes stared at Hammond wide-eyed. Jack was the first to find his voice, "Alien technology?" he finally stammered out.  
  
"Yes Mr. President. We are not alone in the galaxy. There are thousands of planets out there populated with humans."  
  
Jack looked down at the picture and then up at Arnie, "Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
"Mr. President, we have been fighting a war with aliens for the past ten years. This is very much real. This is one of the aliens we've fought," he told him as he laid a picture of Niirti on the table.  
  
"She's just a woman!"  
  
"What you are seeing sir, is a human. However, you are only seeing the host. What you can't see, is this," he told them as he pulled out another picture. "This is the Goa'uld parasite that lives within a host and has complete control of the body and mind."  
  
Jack and Andrea stared at the pictures in silence, they had never seen a creature like this before. Arnie stood and walked to the mini-bar to retrieve two glasses of whiskey. When he came back, he offered them to Jack and Andrea. Andrea absently accepted the drink as she continued to stare down at the picture. As Arnie was sitting down, Jack looked down at the drink he now held in his hand and then up at Andrea, who was as confused and shocked as he was. "Sit down Andrea."  
  
She absently sat down on the couch next to the President as she continued to stare at the pictures in front of her. "That… that thing lives in people?" she asked with a trace of fear and trepidation.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Jack looked at George. "I think you better start from the beginning…" he told him as he took a small sip of his drink, enough to calm his nerves but not affect his judgment.  
  
"Yes sir… Ten thousand years ago, a race called the Goa'uld arrived on Earth through this Stargate. A Stargate is capable of creating a stable wormhole between two Stargates located on different planets throughout the galaxy. It allows for near instantaneous travel between planets that are hundreds of light years apart. There's a lot of physics and science behind it that I can have someone else explain to you later, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter is the world's expert on the Stargate and alien technology… When the Goa'uld arrived on Earth, their hosts at the time were the Unas," he pulled out another picture. "When they arrived, they discovered the human race, and decided that humans would serve as their new hosts. The Goa'uld made themselves out to be Egyptian gods, Ra, Apophis, Anubis, Hathor, Osiris… The list goes on and on.  
  
"We're not sure why or what happened, but for some reason the Goa'uld left Earth after a few hundred years. But, not before taking thousands of humans from here through the Stargate to other planets to serve as slaves and hosts. The Goa'uld have populated the galaxy with the descendents of our ancient ancestors from Egypt and across the world. Once the Goa'uld were gone, the Egyptians buried the Stargate to prevent their return. In 1917, the Stargate was uncovered. It took almost eighty years to figure out how to work that thing. Lt. Colonel Carter was able to develop the mechanism we use to operate the Stargate. Dr. Daniel Jackson was the one who figured out what it was and how to use it.  
  
"Eleven years ago, we sent a mission to a planet called Abydos, at the time we thought it was the only planet accessed by the Stargate. While our team was there, they encountered the Goa'uld first-hand, they were able to destroy the Goa'uld they encountered, Ra. After Dr. Jackson had figured out how to return home, the team came home. Unknown to us, Dr. Jackson stayed on Abydos alive and well; he was married to a woman there, Sha're. When the team came back they told us that the other side had been destroyed, so we closed down the project… A year later though another Goa'uld System Lord, named Apophis, came through our Stargate. We went back to Abydos and found Dr. Jackson, who by that time had found out that there was an entire network of Stargates out there connecting thousand of planets.  
  
"We at the SGC have been fighting the Goa'uld ever since. I was in charge of the SGC for the next seven years. The Stargate is located below NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain." Hammond paused as he let his brief overview sink in.  
  
"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" Ryan asked his chief of staff.  
  
This was the question Arnie had been dreading, he took a deep breath before explaining. "As long as the Stargate has been operational we have kept its secrets classified to the highest levels. In the past, all the knowledge and background of the Stargate has been limited to the base personnel, the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, SecDef, a few members of the Senate Armed Forces Oversight Committee, an SGC-Pentagon liaison officer, and myself. We don't let anyone tell anyone on their staffs. You can understand why."  
  
"Why haven't I been told about this?" Ryan glared at Arnie as anger slipped into his voice.  
  
Arnie and George shared a look with each other. "Honestly, Jack, you had too much on your plate at the time."  
  
"You don't get to make these types of decisions for me!" he yelled.  
  
"There are a lot of decisions I make that I don't tell you about. Listen Jack!" he yelled back before Jack could interrupt him. "I made a call, I take full responsibility for it. But consider what was happening when you came into office! You were the entire US Government! You had _no_ Congress! You had _no_ Cabinet! You had _no_ Joints Chiefs! You had no one to succeed you in the case of an accident! The only people left in DC who knew about the SGC were the two of us and Major Davis, who serves as the SGC-Joint Chiefs liaison. We met and decided that it was in your best interest not to burden you with this.  
  
"We had enough going on at the time here on Earth, I couldn't have you be distracted by what was going on under a mountain in Colorado and throughout the galaxy! We were under attack here, on our own soil! Generals Hammond and O'Neill know how to do their job, I let them do it! We couldn't tell Congress because they were all too new to really understand the gravity of what we were telling them. We couldn't tell Bretano because he had enough to do trying to shape up the Pentagon and we didn't know if he would be here after November. And the Joint Chiefs we didn't tell because… hell I don't remember why we didn't, but we didn't!"  
  
"So you're only telling me now because you are pretty sure that I'm going to win the election?"  
  
"Yes!" Arnie exclaimed back. "Can you honestly tell me that you would have been able to handle hearing this information while trying to rebuild the government and dealing with that war we had with Daryei?"  
  
Jack stared at Arnie for a long time before his face visibly softened, "You're right… But damn it, Arnie, you can't keep stuff like this from me."  
  
"I know Jack, but I had to. Can you understand that?"  
  
Jack nodded his head, "Yeah… I'm too Catholic to know that global security trumps national security."  
  
Hammond silently chuckled. Jack looked over at the general, "What's so funny General?"  
  
"General O'Neill said you were too Catholic," he told him lightly.  
  
"Who's General O'Neill?"  
  
Hammond explained, "He's the current CO of the SGC, has been for almost three years now. You actually know him, it's Jack O'Neill."  
  
TBC  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to come clean with you all. I actually have quite a few more chapters already written. Before you start yelling at me to post them all up, hear me out first! So I have some chapters following this one written out, and also some more for later on, but there is a gap in there. I don't like posting chapters too close to where I have a gap in my story in case I decide to change some things. So please bear with me... and to satiate your needs, I am posting two more chapters for you all as well. Again please read and review! 


	4. Familiar Names

A/N: As promised, another chapter for tonight...

* * *

_"You actually know him, it's Jack O'Neill."_  
  
"Jack?" Ryan was shocked. "I was at his and Sara's wedding! Sara and Cathy were best friends from college… He's running the SGC?"  
  
"Yes sir. When I was the base CO he was the team leader of our best team, SG-1. When I was transferred to the Pentagon under the previous President, he got promoted."  
  
"He hates working behind a desk as much as I hate being President!"  
  
"I don't know about the last part sir, but you're right he doesn't like it too much. But he makes a point of going out into the field every once in a while."  
  
"I can't believe he's a General… I lost touch with him after Charlie…" he quietly added.  
  
"A lot of people did sir. He was actually the one that led the first mission to Abydos. It was right after Charlie, the only reason he agreed was because he knew it was a suicide mission."  
  
"Jesus! I know Sara took it pretty hard, but I had no idea…"  
  
"Not many people did," Hammond reassured him.  
  
Silence settled on the room for several minutes as Andrea and Jack continued to process the information. Jack finally spoke, "I want to see it."  
  
Arnie and George shared another look with each other- things were going well. "We already have that scheduled."  
  
"When?" he asked.  
  
"Next week, you're doing a rally at NORAD and you were scheduled to go on vacation with your family for the next four days. If you'd like, we have it all set up for you to go to the SGC and no one will know about it."  
  
"What?" Andrea asked. "You've been planning an under the table trip for the President and you didn't tell me about it? I'm head of his security detail! I need to know these things!"  
  
"What was I going to do Andrea? Tell you about what was going on under that mountain before I told him?"  
  
Andrea opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find words to express her frustration, she knew he was right. She was still having a hard time accepting the fact that there were aliens out there in the universe who were bent on enslaving or killing every human on Earth. "I just hate surprises!" she told them.  
  
Jack looked over at Andrea and smiled slightly at her, "Me too! … How do we do this? How do we go about letting the proper people know about this?"  
  
"Who do you want to tell first?" Arnie asked him.  
  
"Well Tony and Robbie need to know… It'll be easier to tell the Joint Chiefs if they know about it already."  
  
"They can come with us to Colorado," Hammond told him.  
  
"I'd also like to tell Cathy."  
  
"Uh, Jack, I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" Arnie began.  
  
General Hammond interrupted, "No, that's okay. Jack said it'd be okay for her to know, he knows how close you two are."  
  
"Thank you… She's not going to believe this… Hell, I hardly believe it myself!" he added with a slightly hysterical laugh.  
  
"Most people have a hard time believing it without seeing it. May I suggest though that we don't tell anyone before we get there?"  
  
Jack nodded his head, "That'll be fine." He leaned back in the couch and sat staring at the pictures, he finally spoke in a quiet voice, "I'd like to go through."  
  
TBC 


	5. Planning

_"I'd like to go through."  
_  
Andrea quickly turned her eyes to her charge, "What?!"  
  
"I want to go through that thing. General, can Jack arrange that?"  
  
Andrea was still shocked, "NO! I can't have you traveling to another planet! It's not safe!"  
  
Jack turned to her and gently spoke, "No one out there knows who I am, I'm not in any danger of being assassinated out there."  
  
"That can be arranged sir," Hammond told him.  
  
"No!" Andrea still wasn't pleased with this. As she stared into Jack's eyes she realized that she was going to lose this battle. "Then the entire detail goes with us!"  
  
George let out a small hiss as he took a sharp intake of air. "Ahh… actually that would be more dangerous…"  
  
"What?" Andrea was indignant.  
  
"The SG teams there will be able to provide security, they know what to expect when going off-world."  
  
"I'm sorry Mr. President, either I take my own team or I won't let you go!"  
  
"With all due respect Agent Price, but your agents are trained to protect a single individual. They aren't familiar with real combat situations. We don't plan on taking the President to a dangerous planet, but we have to be prepared just in case. And that means taking a team who can handle themselves in a combat situation against aliens."  
  
Andrea turned to the President, "Sir, I really don't like this idea. We don't know what could happen out there, and I don't feel safe with you going out there without people to protect you."  
  
Jack studied her- he knew she was right. He did respect her, so he sought a compromise, "What if we augment my security with some people who are familiar with combat situations?"  
  
"Who do you have in mind?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Clark and Chavez."  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"You think a couple of spooks can protect you?" Andrea asked.  
  
"They've already had that job Andrea, they did it while I was the NSA." He then turned to Hammond, "John Clark is a former SEAL who did a few covert missions in 'Nam. He's the best recon and field officer at the Agency. Domingo Chavez is a former Army Ranger, he was part of the team that I helped get out of Columbia a few years back. They've both seen combat and they do their jobs well. Andrea, I trust those men with my life as much as I trust you and Roy to protect me and Cathy."  
  
Andrea stared hard at the President, she knew he meant what he said. She grudgingly relented, "Does that mean Roy's coming to?"  
  
Jack nodded his head, "You, Roy and Robbie's head of detail will be the only ones in the Secret Service who know about this. John and Ding will work with you while we're there. They're right, we have to keep this secret tight…"  
  
"So the only one's accompanying us to the SGC will be yourself, the Vice President, Secretary Bretano, your wife, and your security detail of five?" Hammond asked for clarification.  
  
"Yes," Jack responded.  
  
Arnie and George stood up, "Okay Jack, I'll make the final arrangements. Don't worry, Andrea, I'll fill you in on them. Thank you Mr. President."  
  
"Thank you Mr. President," Hammond also said as he shook hands with his commander in chief. "I'll see you next week." The two men then left via the adjoining hallway to Arnie's office.  
  
Jack and Andrea remained on the couch still in a state of shock from everything they had learned in the past hour. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jack got up and retrieved the bottle of whiskey and poured more into their glasses. Andrea tried to refuse. "Andrea, we just learned that we're not alone in the universe and in a week we are going to go to another planet! I think we both need another drink."  
  
There was no point arguing with that. "Is this for real?"  
  
"I think so…" As Jack thought about it some more he started to get excited about it, "Can you believe it that we're going to another planet in a week? … There probably aren't a hundred people who can say they have… This is a chance in a lifetime!"  
  
Andrea shook her head as she saw the excitement on his face, his excitement spread to her. "It's definitely the experience of a lifetime!"  
  
TBC (I promise!)

A/N: That's all for now... Stop spewing your venom at me! If you're really desperate go read some of my other stories (shameless plug I know... but maybe it will distract you for awhile from this story!) or some of my favorite stories written by other talented authors!


	6. What are we doing here?

Author's Notes: So here are a couple more chapters to this story... In case you haven't noticed, this story is starting off with a lot of background and setup for an eventual union between Sam and Jack... So please bear with me...

* * *

A week later  
SGC  
  
Cathy leaned over to Jack as they rode down in the elevator, "Jack, where are we going?"  
  
"To see the most amazing thing," he told her cryptically.  
  
All the inactive military personnel shared an unsure look with each other. Ding quietly whispered to his partner, "Why are we bodyguards again?"  
  
John shrugged his shoulders, "Because he asked us to Ding," he told him as he pointed to Ryan.  
  
"Yeah, but he's got the Secret Service Mr. C."  
  
John didn't have time to reply as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. "If you'll follow me," General Hammond told them as he led them out of the elevator. They walked down a long corridor and made a few turns before he led them to a conference room guarded by a Sergeant.  
  
The guard snapped to attention when he saw General Hammond, "General Hammond."  
  
Hammond smiled, "Sergeant Matthews. How've you been? Jack tells me that you're a new father."  
  
The man beamed back with pride at his former CO, "Yes sir. A little baby girl, her name's Janet Alexandra."  
  
"Congratulations Sergeant!" All the members of the entourage were now in the conference room looking around and wondering what they were doing there. The blast doors were down at the moment. George walked over to the controls and asked the guard a question, "Where's General O'Neill, Sergeant?"  
  
The man hesitated before answering, "Uh, he's down in the control room. SG-1 is overdue by four hours."  
  
General Hammond looked back with concern, "Do we know anything?" The guard shook his head. "Would you go tell him that we're here but that I can start the presentation?"  
  
"Yes sir," the man snapped as he raced down to the control room to find hisCO.  
  
Robbie was the first to ask the question that was on most everyone's mind, "Where are we? And what's SGC stand for?"  
  
General Hammond faced them all, "What you are all about to see is the most highly classified secret in the world. We are twenty six floors below ground level in the heart of Stargate Command." He then turned and flipped a switch that retracted the blast shield so that the occupants could look down into the embarkation room.  
  
Everyone stepped forward to take a look. Except for Ryan and Andrea's face, there were only blank confused expressions, they didn't know what they were looking at. Tony Bretano asked the obvious question, "What is that?"  
  
"That ladies and gentleman is a Stargate. It is-"  
  
"Off-world Gate activation," the speakers blared as the klaxons started and the Stargate came to life.  
  
"Excuse me!" Hammond told them as he rushed down to the control room to see what was going on.  
  
"Off-world activation?" Ding whispered as they watched the ring of the Stargate rotate and start to light up.  
  
TBC 


	7. You're Late!

Within seconds of the klaxons starting the Gateroom was filled with a platoon of Marines with their rifles drawn and aimed at the center of the open ring. They watched in awe as a metal shutter sealed across the center of the ring. All of a sudden they watched as the ring stopped rotating and they heard a large whooshing sound as the area behind the sealed Stargate lit up. After a tense ten seconds they watched as the shutter opened and revealed a vertical wall of shimmering water. "What the…?"  
  
What they saw next surprised them even more, they saw three people step out of the water, one woman and two men. They noticed the man with glasses was limping down the ramp and heavily relying on the tall black man for support. From one of the opening side doors an older man in BDU's stepped through, "What the hell took you guys so long?"  
  
"Is that Jack?" Cathy asked her husband, who nodded back.  
  
The woman smiled at her CO, "Daniel had a… run in with a deep hole sir."  
  
General Jack O'Neill looked at the man with glasses, "Danny, how many times have I told you to watch where you're going?"  
  
Daniel just glared at him. George walked up behind Jack, "Jack, now you know how I felt whenever you guys were late coming through the iris."  
  
Jack spun around, "I was never that bad!"  
  
Sam laughed, "Sir, you were worse!"  
  
Jack looked back at his Major, "No I wasn't!"  
  
Daniel spoke, "Yes you were!"  
  
"No I wasn't!"  
  
"Were!"  
  
"Wasn't!"  
  
"Were!"  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Ah, how I miss that sound," General Hammond laughed as he looked up at the conference room and saw them all staring down at them. "Why don't you guys go get checked out and meet us up in the conference room right away, the President's waiting."  
  
"Yes sir," Sam told him as the trio headed off to the infirmary and get cleaned up.  
  
As Jack and George walked up to the conference room they spoke, "Was I really that bad sir?"  
  
"Jack, you can call me George now! And yes, you were that bad! I hardly ever remember you guys coming through the gate on time or early."  
  
"There were plenty of times that we came through early!"  
  
"Yes and you were usually under fire and getting the Gate room all shot up as you all threw yourselves through the gate!"  
  
The two men laughed as they stopped in the control room for several minutes to discuss SGC matters. After fifteen minutes they finally entered the conference room.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N: That's all for awhile... I still haven't made much headway in the next few chapters... But if I get some reviews maybe I'll be inspired :) 


	8. Introductions

A/N: Here's a slightly longer chapter for you all! I hope you enjoy it and take the time to let me know what you honestly think! I'm also sorry that it has taken me quite a while to post anything for you all... A serious case of writer's block attacked me... I think it was the size of a dam! I'm actually working on the next chapter now that I have an idea of where I want to take it for awhile... Thanks everyone for sticking through with this!

A/N 2: So Jack O'Neill and Jack Ryan are reunited in this chapter, I hope you don't get confused of which Jack is being referred to in a line... I tried to use their last names as much as possible...

A/N 3: I'm glad to hear that most of you are enjoying are the crossover of these two worlds. But as I said earlier, I can't take credit for it! The idea of merging these two worlds came from a well written story by Brenna called "A New Life". She crosses these two worlds at the end of her story, but she does it so well and getting to that point of the story is so enjoyable that I recommend you read if you haven't already!

And now on with this next chapter....

* * *

"Jack!"  
  
"Jack! Cathy!" O'Neill called out as he walked over and gave each of them a hug, much to the dismay of Agents Andrea Price and Roy Altman who watched him closely. "It's good to see you guys!"  
  
Cathy whispered into his ear, "It's been too long."  
  
Jack stepped back, "It has. By the way, congratulations Mr. Pre-"  
  
"Don't even finish that Jack, or I swear to God I'll get one of my detail here to shoot you in the knee!"  
  
Jack raised his hands to his heart, "That's low man! As if I didn't have enough to worry about with my knees, you were always trying to go after them!"  
  
Cathy shook her head as she smiled, "Don't worry Jack, I won't let him hurt you. Because if he does then I'm going to have a chat with his doctor before he gets his next physical!" she told them with an evil look in her eye.  
  
Both men cringed at the thought of painful physicals. "What is it with you doctors? Do you guys always exact your revenge through physicals? The Doc here threatened me with that all the time…" As soon as he had uttered the words his face fell as he remembered their fallen colleague. The tension filled the room as they saw the unease in both General's eyes.  
  
Jack Ryan knew his old friend had a hard time discussing his feelings and so he decided to start with introductions. "Jack there's some people I'd like you to meet… Jack O'Neill this is Robbie Jackson, Tony Bretano."  
  
"Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary," he addressed them as he held out his hand.  
  
"And this is Andrea Price, she's head of my detail, Roy Altman, he's the head of Cathy's, and Kevin Cross, he's Robbie's."  
  
Jack nodded at all three, knowing they wouldn't shake hands while on duty. "And this is John Clark and Domingo Chavez."  
  
Jack immediately noticed that these men had served in the military and seen action, "Mr. Clark, Mr. Chavez."  
  
"General," they both replied.  
  
"Ding. Mr. Chavez is my dad," he told him with a smile as he made an attempt to lighten the mood.  
  
"I know what you mean, I still have a hard time responding to General. Whenever someone yells 'General,' I start looking around for him," he told them as he pointed back at General Hammond. "Well, shall we sit down?" he asked as he led them back to the conference table.  
  
After a few seconds of playful arguing and Cathy finally pulling her husband away, O'Neill sat at the head of the table. On his left were General Hammond, Robbie Jackson and Tony Bretano. On the right were Jack and Cathy Ryan. Andrea, Roy, and Kevin took up positions behind their charges while John and Ding went to cover the entrances. "John sit down," Ryan ordered.  
  
"Sir-"  
  
"John, I didn't bring you here to just serve as my bodyguard. I brought you along for your experience. Right now, I am relying on you for your experience."  
  
"Yes sir," he told him as he took the seat next to Cathy Ryan.  
  
O'Neill spoke, "I'm glad you could make it sir, I've been wanting to tell you for a while… I would have loved to have been there when General Hammond told you!"  
  
President Ryan sighed when his old friend called him 'sir', he hated it when people who had known him as Jack were formal around him. But he reminded himself that Jack O'Neill was a man of the military and some things, like addressing his commander in chief, would be hard to set aside. "Which reminds me Jack, 'Too Catholic'?"  
  
O'Neill uncomfortably looked over at Hammond. Robbie, Tony, Kevin, and Ding were the only ones in the room to notice the small smirk appear on Andrea's face. 'What's she know?'  
  
"Well you are!" he defended himself with the truth.  
  
Cathy leaned over, "Jack, what are you talking about?"  
  
"Just the fact that, apparently, I'm too Catholic to not put global security before national security, even if it is done without my knowledge!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about Jack?" Robbie asked for everyone else that was still in the dark. "Global security?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what we do here," O'Neill clarified as he tried to look out the door.  
  
"What exactly do you do here?" Tony Bretano asked General O'Neill.  
  
Jack O'Neill looked at Hammond momentarily, "Shouldn't you be doing this?"  
  
"You're the one in command of the SGC now!" he lightheartedly told him.  
  
"Yeah, but you're better at this stuff than I am. And you didn't have to tell the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense," Jack whined.  
  
"You're right... I just had to tell the President!"  
  
Jack's eyebrows came together, he had him on that one. He then turned to everyone around the table, "Right… So… Uh what do we do here?… To put it simply… we save the world."  
  
They all just stared at him, not knowing whether to take him seriously or not. Through most people's mind similar thoughts were racing, especially after watching his interactions in the room below. The questions ranged from: They put this guy in charge, Where did they find this guy, They made Jack a general, and in Andrea's mind: This guy is in charge of saving the world from aliens?  
  
Ryan turned to his friend, "Jack, why don't you start by explaining to them what the Stargate is?"  
  
Jack sat up, "Good idea… I was just hoping that Carter or Daniel would be here for this, they do a better job of explaining all this stuff than me… Ah, here they are!" he excitedly exclaimed as Sam and Teal'c walked in. "Where's Danny?"  
  
"Getting X-rays done on his ankle, sir," the female Lt. Colonel replied as she stood at attention at the opposite end of the table with Teal'c standing next to her.  
  
"Figures… Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the leader of SG-1, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, and Teal'c. This is President Jack Ryan…" he continued on with the formal introductions for Teal'c's benefit. They all eyed Teal'c curiously, or more accurately, the gold emblem on his forehead.

"Carter, why don't you explain to them what we do here."  
  
TBC

A/N: If I'm able to put words to the ideas in my head, hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter this weekend. And thank you everyone for your reviews, they have really helped me try and get over my block... I just hope I didn't disappoint!


	9. Mission Statement

A/N: Okay thanks everyone for hanging in there with me... I've been busy with classes and exams! Here's a little something I have written, I don't know when I'll be able to add more to this story. Hopefully (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) by the middle of next week I'll have some more!

I know some of you may be a bit discouraged at the speed of this story, but it takes time to develop a plot that is believable (well as much as can be considering I'm crossing two non-fiction worlds!)

* * *

"Carter, why don't you explain to them what we do here?"  
  
"Yes sir. What have you told them so far?"  
  
"That we save the world," he helpfully told her.  
  
"That's it?" Jack O'Neill merely smiled back. "Riiight… thanks for the introduction sir," she flashed him a coy smile before she stood back and started her presentation. "Did you all witness what happened down below?"  
  
"Yeah, what was that?" Robbie asked.  
  
"That was a Stargate. It is a piece of alien technology that was created by the Ancients millions of years ago. The St-"  
  
"Aliens?" Ding asked from his post. "Like little green aliens with big black eyes?"  
  
Jack couldn't help himself, "Actually they're not green, they're gray… very nice the Asgard are…"  
  
Sam tried to contain her smile, "General O'Neill is referring to the Asgard, an ally of ours. Most of the individuals we have encountered though have a human form. In fact, Teal'c is from a planet called Chulack." Teal'c turned to the others at the table and slowly nodded his head once. They all stared intently at Teal'c for several seconds before Sam continued with her presentation. "As I was saying, the Stargate is capable of transporting objects across the galaxy to other Stargates that are a part of a vast network set up by the Ancients. The Stargate is able to allow for near instantaneous travel across the galaxy by creating a stable wormhole to a receiving Stargate that we dial to."  
  
Over the next two hours Sam filled them in on the history of the Stargate and went into the physics behind it, much to O'Neill's dismay but to Tony and Robbie's pleasure. Halfway through the presentation, Daniel limped into the conference room and provided them with information from an anthropological point of view.  
  
When Sam and Daniel had finished their presentation, those recently introduced to the work of the SGC sat (or in the case of the detail, stood) in silence as they let the information further sink in. It wasn't every day that one found out that there were aliens out there and that there was even one sitting at the end of the table with them!  
  
"How long have you known about this Jack?"  
  
President Ryan looked over at his wife, "We've known about it for a week."  
  
"We?" Cathy asked as she looked over at her husband's best friend and Vice President. Robbie shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as he waited to hear his response.  
  
"General Hammond and Arnie briefed me and Andrea on the Stargate program last week."  
  
Robbie and Tony's eyes went wide, "Arnie knew about this?" Roy and Kevin looked over at Andrea as they recalled that she hadn't been anywhere near as shocked as they were through out the presentation.  
  
"Yeah… Apparently Arnie, General Hammond and a Major Davis have been running the SGC from DC without anyone's knowledge."  
  
Tony turned and looked over at the Pentagon man sitting next to him, "How the hell have you done that without my knowledge?"  
  
General Hammond steeled himself before making his response, he'd been expecting this question, much as he and Arnie had anticipated it when briefing the President. "Mr. Secretary, I sincerely do apologize for the deceit and side stepping I have had to do at the Pentagon to keep this place running, but Arnie and I decided it was in the best interest of all those involved that we do so. The Stargate Program is funded by Project Bluebook, have you heard of it?"  
  
Tony looked over at Robby, who used to be a J-3 (Assistant to the Joint Chiefs) during the previous President's tenure, and more recently Tony's operations no-bullshit man. Robbie shook his head, "I've never heard of it."  
  
"The Project is very well hidden… And to be honest Mr. Vice President, I'm glad to hear that you've never heard of it."  
  
"Excuse me General?" he asked in a slightly threatening tone.  
  
Hammond didn't even flinch, a slightly annoyed former Admiral and current Vice President was nothing compared to facing a few Goa'uld! "Knowledge of the SGC has been tightly controlled in Washington D.C. Previously it had been limited to the President, his Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs, a few members of the Senate Armed Forces Oversight Committee, and the liaison between the SGC and the Pentagon. All meetings are held in closed rooms and everyone is forbidden from discussing any of it with anyone on their staff, sir. Now that you are all aware of what goes on down here, you can understand why… We'll be holding you all to the same standards as well."  
  
Tony was about to say something but was interrupted by the President, "And I agree with him. I know how important it is to keep certain things from becoming public knowledge, this trumps every single thing I have done with the CIA."  
  
Everyone around the table nodded their heads in understanding. They all remembered the fiasco with the two reporters who had ambushed him on live TV and revealed classified information from his days as a CIA analyst.  
  
No one more than John Clark understood the vitality of keeping certain classified operations a secret, in thirty years with the Agency he had done too many covert operations to not understand that. He enjoyed his privacy and wished for the sake of those here, who risked their lives every day they went through the Stargate to defend this planet, that they would be able to continue to do their duty and not be distracted by the media.  
  
Tony nodded his head at the President, "Yes sir," as everyone else also nodded their heads in acceptance.  
  
"Now that you have been informed, Mr. Secretary, I'll be briefing you and the Joint Chiefs on a regular basis."  
  
"I also want regular updates," Ryan stated.  
  
"Yes, Mr. President."  
  
"Well…" Jack started, "now that we got the history out of the way, you guys want a tour of this place?"  
  
"Excellent idea Jack," the president responded as he began to stand up, which was accompanied by everyone else standing up with him.  
  
Jack smiled and looked over at Sam, "Did you hear that Carter?"  
  
"Excuse me, sir?" she asked as she looked at him with a confused expression.  
  
He grinned even wider as he replied, "The President of the United States just said I had an excellent idea!"  
  
Sam tried hard to hide the smirk that was spreading across her face, "Congratulations sir… I knew you had it in you!"  
  
General Hammond merely nodded his head and smiled as he watched the banter between his two best people. The others watched on with curious eyes at this interaction between two Air Force officers.  
  
"Hey! I'm not the one who has 'dumb ideas'!" he countered back.  
  
Sam smiled and bit back a retort, she didn't know how far she could push the envelope in the presence of the President, Vice President, and the Secretary of Defense. Daniel however felt no such inhibitions. "Yes, but, Jack, who calls on her for her so called 'dumb ideas'?"  
  
Jack glared at his best friend, he wasn't going to answer him.  
  
But Teal'c was, "The Asgard."  
  
Daniel beamed with pride as he turned to his teammate, "Exactly! And would you like to explain to everyone here who the Asgard are?"  
  
"Teal'c don't answer that! That has nothing do with this discussion!" Jack warned.  
  
Teal'c looked over at his friend and raised his eyebrow before turning away and looking at President Ryan. "I believe it has everything do with this discussion O'Neill. The Asgard are the most advanced race of beings in the universe. They have relied upon ColonelCarter many times to save themselves and their home planet."  
  
O'Neill was about to say something when he heard his old friends chuckle. Cathy spoke before her husband, "Jack give it up! As much as I love my husband and think how smart he is, a 'dumb idea' in these Asgard's mind is a lot more of a compliment than an 'excellent idea' from him," she said as she pointed at her husband.  
  
"Yeah, but-"  
  
"Jack, just admit it! She's a hell of a lot smarter than you are!"  
  
Sam grinned, "Thank you Mr. President! I'm glad someone around here appreciates me, sir."  
  
Jack raised his voice, "Hey I appreciate you being around here Carter! I know for a fact that this place wouldn't function without you!" Jack smiled at the compliment he gave his favorite scientist.  
  
Sam was still having her fun though, "Is that why you are always ordering me off the base, sir?" she asked him sweetly.  
  
Jack opened his mouth to speak but found he had no response to that. It was the truth after all, he just wished it would never come back and bite him in the ass! "Yeah… well… Damnit!" Jack grinned as he shook his head at the Colonel and conceded defeat as he began to lead them on a tour of the base.  
  
Daniel leaned over to Teal'c as they followed, "Two more points for Sam."  
  
TBC


	10. Plans

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter! I never meant to have you all waiting for almost a month. Things in real life have been occuping my time and I haven't been able to really work on this story, that and the fact that my muse was encountering a road block and decided to detour me with another story I've started posting. Sorry! 

Well, on with the story and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and find it worthwhile to send me your thoughts on it, whether you liked it or didn't!

* * *

Ninety minutes later they were back in the conference room. "So Jack, what's on the agenda for the next few days?"

"Well sir, we'll have you come back tomorrow in the morning to brief you some more on what to expect on traveling through the gate. We'll-"

"We get to go through that thing?" Robbie asked with a grin on his face.

"Yes sir. We're scheduled to take you all through the day after tomorrow to take a look at our Alpha Site and meet some of our allies," Jack explained to them.

"What's it like?" Robbie asked.

"You used to be a fighter pilot right, sir?"

"Yeah, I flew Tomcats for the Navy."

"Then you'll love traveling through the Stargate!" Jack promised him.

"Why can't we go through tomorrow afternoon?" Ryan asked.

"Because you're coming over to my house tomorrow night for dinner," O'Neill supplied.

Jack and Cathy looked at their old friend, "Andrea, care to explain?"

"Yes sir. Mr. Van Damm, General Hammond and I thought you might enjoy having dinner with General O'Neill. And it's my understanding that Sarah Mills and her current husband, Greg, are leaving for Europe the day after tomorrow."

"Don't tell me you're starting to do things without my knowledge too now?"

Jack spoke up and bailed the Secret Service agent out, "I told them not to tell you, I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"You know I don't like surprises Jack!" Ryan reminded him.

"I know," he smugly replied.

Ryan shook his head before looking over at the head of his security detail and whispering, "Let's not try and make a habit of this, okay?"

Andrea nodded, "Yes sir."

"Thanks though."

"Your welcome," she quietly replied.

Ryan then looked up at everyone else, "So what time is dinner?"

"It's at six o'clock… Mr. Vice President, Mr. Secretary, I'd be honored if you'd both join us tomorrow night for an informal, yet formal, grill out tomorrow evening," Jack O'Neill told them.

Both men looked to the President and saw that he would be happy to have them there as well before accepting the invitation. "Excellent!" Jack cried out.

The Next Night Jack O'Neill's home

"I can't even remember the last time I grilled out!"

Jack O'Neill looked at his friend and current commander in chief, "That's a shame… You really should do it more often, you know that you'll lose your touch if you don't do it often!"

"Don't I know it… Hell, Cathy and I had to almost fight just to serve breakfast for our selves!" he informed him.

O'Neill reached out with the tongs and began to turn one of the many shish kabob skewers spread out on his grill. After a moment of silence, he seriously asked him a question, "How is the job?"

"Hard! I can't believe people fight for this job… One of the most annoying things is that I can't even do any of my own work or research! That's what I loved about being an analyst, it was like solving a puzzle… Now, someone else does all that for me and I just get the highlights and have to make a decision on it!"

He nodded his head in understanding, "I know what you mean…"

President Ryan looked over at Jack O'Neill and nodded his head, "Yeah, how did you become a General? Didn't you promise yourself that you would never sit behind a desk?"

Jack chuckled, "Yeah I did… I hate sitting behind that desk and watching all the teams go through and do all the exploring… It's no fun worrying about your teams…" At that moment, Sam and Cathy Ryan walked out to the patio carrying trays of vegetables (for Teal'c) and hamburgers for the small children (the First Children and General Hammond's granddaughters). "And it's all her fault," Jack exclaimed as he pointed the tongs at Sam Carter.

"What did I do this time, sir?" she asked as she set a tray down and helped Cathy with her tray before holding out a few beers to both men.

"Bully me into taking Hammond's old job."

"For the record sir, it was Daniel who mentioned that you could do whatever you wanted," she told them with a smile.

"Yes, but I couldn't leave you guys with someone much worse in charge, now could I?"

Sam shook her head, "You're not going to let me live that down are you, sir?"

"Not anytime soon," he told her as he turned back to the meat on the grill. "Oh and Carter, probably not a good idea to put the First Lady to work!"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Cathy beat her to it. "Trust me she didn't! I had to practically order her to let me help her out."

Jack Ryan nodded his head and smiled at his wife. "Don't you hate doing that Cath?" He then looked at both Jack and Sam to explain, "Sometimes we just want to feel like normal people again!"

"And if they don't get it, they order the rest of us to treat them like normal people," Robbie chimed in as he walked up to the group. "Do you remember that time in your office where you forced Andrea to sit down, ordered me to call you Jack and enjoy myself or you'd have Andrea shoot me?"

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah I remember… Sometimes a man just needs to feel like a man, and not the President of the United States."

"And having a relaxing night at a friend's house is just that…" Cathy commented.

"How do you guys know the General here?" Robbie asked.

"Sarah and I were very close friends back in college. Jack and I got to know him after he married Sarah and he was stationed at Andrews."

Sam looked over at her CO, "When were you stationed at Andrews, sir?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Jack told her with a smug grin.

She just stared at him while Cathy laughed. "Sam, don't you ever want to just wipe that smirk off his face?"

"The Air Force doesn't look too favorably on assaulting Brigadier General's, ma'am!" she told her in a round about way that she would love nothing more at times.

Cathy turned and began to lead Sam away, "Well, I know his boss, and I'm sure we can maybe bend the rules a little… No one should have to suffer, as I'm sure you have, working with him for… What? How long have you worked with him?"

"Ten years, ma'am."

Cathy turned to look at Sam before looking back at her husband and friends, "Oh dear God, I'm so sorry! Jack should give you a medal!"

The three men watched the two women walk off as Cathy continued to laud Sam for her perseverance.

"She definitely deserves a medal!" Jack Ryan added as he continued to tease his old friend.

"More than you know, sir! And not for just putting up with me!" he quickly added. "She's the smartest person I've ever known and one of the best soldier's."

"Hell of a combination," Robbie commented.

"Oh yeah… She can ramble with the best of them about her little doo-hickey's and then come up with a way to save the planet."

Ryan shook his head, "You know, for as much work with the CIA as I did, it all pales in comparison to what you guys do here! It's hard to fathom that while I thought I was doing something important by bringing down the Columbian drug cartel, I had no idea that the fate of our existence was at stake and being defended from Colorado Springs!"

"And I used to think flying Tomcats was an experience, I'm betting that it'll be nothing compared to what we do tomorrow!"

"It is pretty exciting," Jack agreed.

"So how many times have you guys saved the planet?"

Jack O'Neill shrugged, "I don't know, but Carter's definitely leading the race of coming up with ideas to save the planet."

"Like what?"

"Well, she once had this idea to take a meteor through the planet by jumping into hyperspace…" he told them as he turned the skewers.

Both men's eyes went wide as their mouths opened in shock. "She flew a… meteor through..? How did she know it'd work?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know… I just know that most of her ideas work and she comes through in the clutch…" He went on to tell them stories of her other ideas that had saved them, and other planets, many a time.

The President and Vice President looked through the patio windows and saw Sam speaking with Tony Bretano. "Damn!" Ryan whispered.

Robbie then turned to O'Neill, "You make sure that we don't ever lose her, you hear?"

Jack looked up and into his house as his eyes sought out Sam. She happened to look up at the same moment and they both shared a small smile with each other. "I don't plan to, sir." 'I don't know what I'd do if I lost her…' Jack wondered to himself.

TBC


	11. Field Trip

A/N: To all those who have been waiting for the next chapter of this story, I'm sorry! I really hate that you all have had to wait several weeks for this chapter. Things at school and work were taking a little too much time! Damn Grad school and professors! 

There's also the fact that I had to rewrite over half of this chapter because for some reason it wasn't saved. Once I'd realized that it hadn't been saved, a few days after the fact mind you, I was depressed and then it took me awhile to remember what I'd written and try to rewrite it. I'll admit, I liked the dialogue I had in the first version better, but since I can't remember it, this'll have to do!

As a treat for all of you who have hung in there and waited for chapters, I'm posting two chapters tonight.

WARNING: It will take me a while to post the next few chapters since I don't really know how I want the intervening chapters to go. But in the mean time please take the time to review and let me know what you honestly think of these chapters!

* * *

The next morning  
Gate Room 

"Everyone ready?" Jack cheerily asked as he stepped to the front of the VIP crowd gathered at the base of the ramp.

The neophytes to Stargate travel all looked at him with a range of expressions: anxiety, excitement, caution, fear, and other combinations. They were all excited at the prospect of traveling to another planet, it was the whole de-molecularization process that they were a little wary of.

"Close enough," Jack accepted as he looked up to the control room and nodded to General Hammond to start the dialing protocol.

Once the event horizon had been established, and the President's entourage had jumped back a step in awe, O'Neill walked up the ramp and began speaking to them. "Good morning ladies and gentleman, and welcome to Intergalactic Airways, servicing all your intergalactic travel needs. We are expecting a quick trip to the Alpha Site, covering…" he paused and looked at Carter.

"640 Light Years," she supplied with a smile.

"… In a little under ten seconds. Upon arrival at our destination please step away from the wall of water behind you to allow others to arrive as well. In the case that you should feel nauseous and have the urge to 'throw up', please step to the side before doing that. Those following you would greatly appreciate not arriving on another planet and not having their first steps be into a pile of puke. The weather at our destination is nice and clear and we don't expect any delays in transit," he smiled widely at them as they couldn't help but smile at his attempts to ease their minds. "Once again, thank you for choosing Intergalactic Air, we hope you'll de-molecularize with us again!" he told them before turning and walking through the event horizon.

The civilians each slowly walked up the ramp and paused before taking the plunge through the event horizon. When they landed on the other side most of them were looking very queasy and grasping their stomachs as they shivered and took deep breaths. They were pulled away from their self-assessments when they noticed a flash and looked for its source. What they all saw was an Airman standing before them with a Polaroid camera.

Jack O'Neill stood happily behind the Airmen rocking on his heels as he directed the Airmen to snap the pictures away. Once everyone had arrived, he gathered their attention, "Alright campers, I hope you all enjoyed your flight with Intergalactic Airways. This being your inaugural trip, we have arranged for mementos of this trip for each of you."

The Airmen then walked among the crowd of VIP's and delivered the pictures. Once they all saw the expressions on their faces their anger with having someone catching them in a vulnerable state vanished. Their anger was replaced with wide smiles and laughs as they all saw how funny they looked upon stepping out of the wormhole. They eventually all started sharing their pictures with each other and comparing reactions. Tony Bretano's Polaroid received the loudest laughs. In his defense, he claimed that he designed planes so that they didn't feel like that.

"Nice idea with the Polaroids, sir. Distracting them so they forgot their queasiness," Sam whispered to him as she walked up next to him to observe the group as they shared their photos.

Jack looked over at her from the corner of his eye, "That's what I thought!" He then turned to her with a serious expression, "Now am I allowed to actually enjoy your compliment? Or does your judgment not carry any clout?"

Sam chuckled and shook her head, "Savor away sir."

"I will… You know… I wish I had one of these set up on your first trip through!" he told her before he turned to the crowd and clapped his hands together. "Alright campers, now that the souvenirs are out of the way, how about we go on a little tour of this place."

An hour later they were entering the hangar bay, "And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is where the Second Air Group of F-302's is stationed. The First one is stationed at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. T-"

"Williams was closed in the early 90's," Robbie pointed out.

"Yes sir. But for the past decade or so we've built an underground base and construction hangar to house the Prometheus and F-302s… We've been using a part of the base that the restoration committee has forgotten about."

Tony Bretano shook his head in amazement, "My God! How many more secret bases can there be in the military that I don't know about? … No wonder people are leery of the military and come up with all their conspiracy theories!"

Jack shrugged his shoulders, there was nothing he could do about that. "Carter you want to tell them about the F-302 and the Prometheus?"

"Yes sir. The F-302 is our reverse engineered version of a Goa'uld death glider. It is capable of carrying two people and can travel at sub-light speeds. Sub-light speed is anything slower than the speed of light. We are actually capable of surpassing the speed of light on the Prometheus, or F-303. It is capable of creating a stable wormhole through its hyper drive which requires a rare and unstable metal called naquadria, it's not found on Earth," she explained. "We actually tried to modify a hyperspace drive for the F-302 when it was still a prototype. Unfortunately, we were never able to create and maintain a stable wormhole. Due to the instability of the naquadria, a large heat exchanger is necessary to divert the heat and energy and utilize it efficiently. Since the-"

"Carter!"

Sam looked at her CO sheepishly, "Sorry sir."

"What have I told you about technobabble?"

Sam stared back at him, she wasn't going to dignify it with a response.

Jack smirked before turning back to the crowd, "Anyways, now that you are all thoroughly confused… How about we take these babies for a spin?"

"We get to go up?"

"That's the plan!" Jack informed them as wide grins appeared on most of the faces surrounding him. There were a few serious expressions. "If you'll all follow me so we can get geared up…"

"Mr. President," Andrea quietly spoke as she walked up next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Sir, I can't let you go up. It's not secure."

"What? Come on Andrea, what could happen?"

Andrea stared at the President. "Any pilot who will have the President on board undergoes a very rigorous background check and psychiatric evaluation. I can't let you go up there with just anyone, sir." She then looked over at General O'Neill as he slowed down to join them, "Seeing as to how we weren't informed of this little side trip, we haven't been able to perform the necessary security precautions."

"Come on Andrea, this is a once in a lifetime chance! To get to go up into space in a space ship?"

"With all due respect sir, so is traveling to another planet. Sir, I know there are things you want to do, but it's my job to keep you safe so that you don't have to worry about your safety. Now, I've already had to set aside a lot of normal precautionary measures for this trip, sir." And thus went another battle between the Secret Service and POTUS.

The President called over his old friend, "Jack, convince her that traveling in one of those is perfectly safe!"

"She not going to let you go up?" O'Neill asked as he looked between the two. "Why not?"

Andrea answered, "For one, we haven't been able to do a background check on any of the pilots here. Second, we haven't been able to secure the… aircraft prior to the President riding in it and ensuring that it hasn't been tampered with."

"Well, with respect to your second concern, no one here on base knew about the President's visit until this morning. So no one would have the opportunity to do anything even if they wanted to, which they wouldn't," he assured her. "And as for your first concern about not having been able to run background checks, there's nothing I can really do about that."

President Ryan's face fell.

"But, if it's all the same to you, Teal'c, Carter, and I are all certified in the F-302… In fact, Teal'c and I tested the first prototype." Jack conveniently left out the fact that he and Teal'c had almost died somewhere beyond Earth's solar system.

Ryan tried to entice his Agent, "You and the other agents can go up at the same time!"

Andrea considered their suggestions. She looked over at her President, she saw a man who anxiously wanted to fulfill every child's dream of going into space. She hated saying 'no' to the President, but it was a constant battle between the Secret Service and the President. As the President practiced politics and played to a crowd, it was the job of the Secret Service to worry and keep him alive.

'But he's not playing politics right now… He just wants to go up there…' she noted. 'And I will get to go up as well…' She was having a hard time deciding whether or not to allow this trip. She really didn't want anything to happen to him or his wife, and that extended beyond her sense of duty; she really liked and respected this President.

"General… You, Teal'c and Colonel Carter will pilot the President, First Lady, and Vice President's flights. Agents will be in the air at the same time. Also, sir, I won't allow for you and the Vice President to be out there at the same time."

"That's fine!" Ryan eagerly accepted. "Thank you, Andrea," he gratefully told her.

Andrea merely nodded at him. "General, is there anything else I should know about concerning our activities for the rest of the day?"

"Well, we're scheduled to travel to several other planets in a couple of hours… You know, kind of a galactic tour of cultures and planets!"

Andrea looked at him with a sideward glance and was about to comment on the security nightmare that would be for her and the rest of the Detail.

Jack quickly tried to assuage her concerns, "We've already sent teams to all the planets to monitor them and make sure that there aren't any surprises. Before actually traveling to a planet, we'll dial them up and make contact with our teams there. Does that suit you?"

"It'll have to, now won't it? Sir, I'm going to have to ask that the Vice President not accompany us on those trips."

"He's going to hate that," Ryan commented.

They reached the locker rooms and were about to enter when Sam walked up to her CO, "Sir."

"Yeah Carter?" he asked as held the door open for the others to file in.

"I just spoke with the engineers here, they've been having some problems with integrating some of the technology we received from one of our allies with our systems..."

"So are you asking me if you can abandon me today?" he asked wisely recognizing the sound of her voice.

Sam smiled at him.

"Don't you want to go say hi to the Tok'ra?" he asked her hoping that he could entice her to accompany him.

"My dad's on a mission right now, so he won't be there… Besides I can trust you not to destroy our alliance, right sir?"

Jack mockingly clenched his fist, "Damn… my favorite Tok'ra won't be there! Now what am I going to do?"

"Probably perform the introductions yourself, sir!" she teased him.

"Hah!" He then motioned her into the locker room. "Actually that might work out…"

"How's that sir?"

"Well Agent Price is forbidding the Vice President and President from going up in the F-302 at the same time, and she's not going to let the Vice President accompany us on our trip around the galaxy. Think you can babysit him and take him up in an F-302 later?"

Sam nodded her head, "It'd be my pleasure… And for the record, sir, I doubt he needs a babysitter!" she told him as she walked over to the Vice President to speak with him.

"Sir?"

Vice President Jackson looked up as he continued to unzip his jacket, "Colonel Carter."

"Sir, you can hold off on changing just yet. General O'Neill has informed me that Agent Price has forbidden you and the President from riding in one of those at the same time and from both of you going on the rest of the trips to other planets we have made contact with." She saw the VP's face fall, she wondered if it was at the prospect of not getting to go up or getting to go out to visit more planets.

"Sir, the engineers here have asked me to stick around and help them with testing and integrating a few systems. The First Lady informed me that you studied electrical engineering at the Naval Academy, perhaps you'd like to see how some of the technology works?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, that'd be great Colonel, thanks."

"And I promise, I'll take you up in the F-302 at some point, sir."

She saw the wide grin return to his face. "If you'd like sir, I can have one of the other pilots familiarize you with the F-302's systems and handling before I take you up."

"That'd be wonderful!" he told her as he barely contained his joy. He, the son of a preacher from Mississippi, was going to fly in a spaceship! "Wait, you know how to fly these things as well?"

Sam looked up and smiled as she finished removing her pack and gear so that she could go work with the engineers and scientists. "Apparently that was one of Agent Price's conditions, that I take you up… Well, sir, if you'll follow me."

TBC

So, I just reposted this and fixed one error... the first time I had the alpha site being 650 light years away, I'd actually guessed that number. Turns out it is actually 640 light years away according to the transcript for the episode Covenant, thanks Yahoo Transcripts... But how cool is that that I was only ten light years off?


	12. Up, Up, and Away!

"This thing is safe?" Ryan asked his old friend as their craft taxied out of the hangar. 

"After all that fighting with Price, now you're worried if this thing is safe?" O'Neill teased him. "Raptor 1 ready for take-off," he informed the traffic controller and waited for his wingman with Agent Price to come up beside them.

"Raptor 2 ready for take-off, sir." He then keyed the cockpit radio, "You ready, ma'am?"

Andrea looked to the small mirror in front of her pilot, "As I'll ever be Major Towers," she told him with a half sure smile.

"Don't worry ma'am, I've been flying these for five years… And I've only crashed once," he told her with a smile as he gunned the engines and took off right behind O'Neill's aircraft.

"What?!" she yelled at her pilot once they'd taken flight.

Major Towers grinned even wider as he followed O'Neill into outer space. He then looked into the mirror to see the horrified expression on the Secret Service agent sitting behind him who continued to glare at him.

"Don't worry ma'am, I was testing the inertial dampening system in the F-302's… so technically I didn't crash because the system worked… But I was trying to crash it…"

"You would intentionally try and crash one of these? Why in God's name would you do that?" she asked him.

"So that we could safely fly one of these up here… Take a look around," he told her as he motioned with his hand.

For the first time in the F-302 Agent Price looked outside of the cockpit and saw that indeed it would have been worth it. She saw the vast expanse of black empty space all around her littered with twinkling lights hundreds, if not thousands, of light years away. The two aircrafts banked towards the planet they had just left giving the passengers a glimpse of the entire planet in a single panorama.

"Wow!" were the silent whispers coming from both passengers as the power of their surroundings set into their minds.

"We're really up here aren't we Jack?" the President asked.

"Yes, sir," he quietly replied letting the President absorb this moment in all its glory. He looked into his own mirror and enjoyed watching the emotions play across his Commander-in-Chief's face. He remembered his own first time in a death glider when they were escaping Apophis' attack ships in Earth's orbit.

"This is absolutely amazing!" Ryan muttered to himself as he ingrained the image into his memory. "Have you gone up in one of these in Earth's orbit?" he asked him excitedly.

Jack nodded his head, "A few times," he modestly replied.

Ten minutes later, five other ships joined them, each carrying a member of the President's entourage. They orbited the planet in silence several times letting the guests savor the moment of their first, and probably last, time up into space.

The F-302's split into two teams, Jack, Cathy and their escorts went one way, while SecDef and the CIA operatives went another way.

"So how about a quick peak at the two moons and a quick tour of this solar system?"

Two and a half hours later, the two flight groups regrouped in the planet's orbit for a few more trips around the planet around the planet at lower altitudes.

"Jack?"

"Yeah Cathy?" O'Neill asked as he looked over at Teal'c and his passenger.

"Thanks…"

"For what?"

Cathy smiled, "For letting me learn about the SGC and all of this!"

"Yeah Jack, I don't know if I'd be able to keep this from her," the man sitting behind him replied. The President then cued the private radio with Jack, "I hate not being able to tell her some of the stuff I do… But she sees the effects it has on me… She was there when the nightmares started happening after Columbia… She never knew what was going on, but she was always there for me… I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to tell her what I'd seen… All the death…" he began explaining in a distant voice.

Jack silently looked straight ahead. He knew exactly what his friend was talking about. Sarah had put up with him and supported him and been his rock for almost ten years. But the secrecy that revolved around his work in Special Ops had put a strain on their marriage.

Something in the corner of his eye brought Ryan back to his surroundings. He noted Jack's silence and watched him in the mirror for a few seconds before he realized that his friend knew. "God, Jack… I forgot…"

Jack looked back at the President and sent a small smile, "It's okay… it's in the past… Besides, we had good memories…"

A silence ensued in the small cockpit as they flew across one of the Alpha Site's oceans and were coming upon a landmass with a mountain range running along the coast that they traveled along.

"I'm glad I don't have to keep this from Cathy, this is too beautiful and awesome not to share with her," Jack Ryan quietly added.

The General nodded as he maintained his vigilance on their surroundings. He envied his friend and this experience. He was getting to share it with the woman he loved and had. Jack, unfortunately, couldn't have that, not as long as he was still in the Air Force. He and Colonel Carter had experienced many things together, but they'd never been able to discuss it with the intimacy that his two friends would be able to do when they returned home.

"Consider it an anniversary present Jack," he told his friend.

"Alpha, this is Raptor Leader, requesting permission to return to base."

Thirty minutes later all the F-302's had landed and all the pilots and passengers found themselves in the debriefing room sharing their excitement with what they'd just experienced. The pilots watched with amusement as this group of doctors, engineers, and experienced bodyguards were reduced to small children as they shared their feelings at what they'd seen.

"You have given them something that they will not easily forget, O'Neill," Teal'c quietly told his friend.

Jack smiled and looked over at his friend, "Yeah… You never forget the first time…"

Teal'cs eyes danced with the happy memories as he recalled his first time in a death glider and flying over his own home world of Chulak. "Indeed."

TBC

Remember to let me know what you think, and this'll be the last chapter for awhile! Sorry :(


	13. Change Your Mind?

A/N: Have no fear! I have not abandoned this story!! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but it seems that a few of the later chapters wanted to be written. So I'll admit, I was working on those. Good news is that once I get caught up with those chapters that means there'll be a time when you don't have to wait as long between postings!! 

Once again, thank you everyone for the reviews, they really help!

* * *

"So how's it feel?" General O'Neill asked as he adjusted his pack.

Sam Carter looked up from the report in her hands in confusion. She stared at him momentarily waiting for him to clarify his question.

Around them the rest of SG-1, SG-3 and the VIP guests prepared themselves for their next trip through the Stargate to the Cimmerian home world.

Not receiving a response, Jack looked up at his second in command. With his eyes he indicated himself and then her body.

In that moment she understood and thought of her answer. "I'll admit sir, it's kind of strange… I don't know how you got used to it."

Jack looked up, "I never did…" He then smiled at her, "But now you know how I feel when you go through without me!"

"I'll remember that for next time," she told him seriously before she sent him a small smile, "maybe."

Jack ignored her last comment, "You know, you could still come with us."

Sam smiled back at him, "You'll be fine without me sir," she assured him. She then leaned in close to her CO, "But the researchers here…" she told him in a mockingly unsure voice.

O'Neill nodded his head, "Yeah… They'd probably blow up the planet if you weren't helping them out every once in a while."

Sam laughed, "Maybe sir!"

Jack looked up excitedly as an idea popped in his mind, "Hey I got an idea…"

He quickly shot her a warning glare before she could state the obvious reply. Instead, Sam bit back her reply and smiled knowingly at him.

"How about you schedule a break for… oh, say about… 1900 hours and join us as we meet the Tok'ra?"

She stared at him with a questioning look, was he really suggesting that?

"Right… no breaks… but you gotta eat!" he reminded her.

Sam nodded her head like a teenager who only half listened to their parent.

Daniel chose that moment to join them, "Sure we can't convince you to come along Sam?"

"Already tried Danny… her little doohickey's beckon!"

Sam and Daniel resignedly shook their heads, "They're not doohickeys sir."

Jack nodded his head and tried again, "Thing-a-majigs? …. Gadgets?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders, "Close enough, sir."

Daniel turned to Sam and pleaded, "Please don't leave me alone to deal with him!"

She smiled at him apologetically.

"Hey, I'm not that bad as long as you aren't digging for rocks!" he defended himself.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and grimaced as he indicated Jack, "See what I have to deal with?"

"Sorry Daniel, you're on your own this time… Me? I'm going to enjoy my little vacation!"

"Yeah sure, make fun now… We'll see who's laughing at the next review board!"

Daniel turned serious, "Do they even invite you to those things?"

Jack thought about it, "Uh…" He smiled when he saw the corner of Daniel's lips twitching with a smile.

Sam turned to her 'teammates' and put an end to the banter, "Say hi to Jonas for me."

"He's going to be disappointed at not seeing you…" Jack pointed out, hoping that it might change her mind.

"So will the Orbanians," Daniel pointed out. "They're probably going to explain some new discovery they made and we won't have anyone to understand!"

"I'm sure you guys will manage… And if the Orbanians have something to share have them explain it to Secretary Bretano."

They both stared at her skeptically. "He's an engineer," she explained.

"But he doesn't understand any of that stuff."

Daniel turned to Jack, "Neither do you Jack, at least he's a scientist!"

O'Neill nodded his head, "Good point… So the Secretary is in charge of bringing back any scientific information…" Looking around at the group of VIP's he continued, "I guess we'll put Cathy in charge of medical information and Jack we can put in charge of…" he contorted his face as he tried to come up with an area for him to report on. Not coming up with anything he shrugged, "Rulers?"

They stared at him.

"What? We can't give put him in charge of history, Daniel's already got that covered!" he tried.

Sam leaned over, "But maybe he'll write shorter reports, sir…"

A huge grin appeared on his face as he walked away in search of the President, "Maybe he's looking for another job…"

Daniel shook his head as he watched Jack approach his old friend and make his proposal. When he saw the President look over at him and laugh he turned to Sam, "My reports are not that long."

Sam looked over at him with a sideward glance.

"Well, okay… Maybe I get a little verbose…"

"A little?" she asked him.

"Look who's talking Sam!" he accused.

Sam shook her head, "Nope… I've learned to tailor my reports to him… Bullet points save me so much time!" she revealed to him.

A few minutes later the Stargate had been engaged and contact with the advance team on Cimmeria had been established.

General O'Neill was about to lead them up the steps to the waiting Stargate when he reached into his pocket and pulled a small object out and threw it at Sam who was standing off to the side, "And Carter…"

Sam quickly reached up and snagged the object out of the air. Realizing what it was she couldn't help but smile. She looked up from the apple she now held in her hands and answered his implied order, "Yes sir."

Jack looked over his shoulder, "I will find out if you don't eat that," he warned her.

Sam smiled warmly at him, a smile Jack happily returned. "I know sir… Be careful, sir."

"I always am!" he told her with one last look and smile before he stepped through the event horizon.

At the rear of the group, Robbie approached his best friend, "I want a full report when you get back Marine!"

Ryan smiled, "I'm sorry you can't come with us."

Robbie shrugged his shoulders, "It's okay… Colonel Carter promised to take me up in an F-302 later!"

The President smiled as he watched his friend revert back to a child, "You're going to love it!"

As Teal'c and Daniel stepped up to the event horizon Sam called out one last time, "Make sure he doesn't destroy any of our alliances!"

Daniel laughed while Teal'c merely turned to her and bowed his head in agreement as he accepted her mission.

Once the wormhole had been disengaged, the Vice President turned to Sam and noticed the look on her face. A look that conveyed her wishes that she could be joining the rest of her team. "I hate being left behind."

Sam turned to the Vice President and smiled as she remembered a familiar mantra, "No one gets left behind, sir."

Robbie Jackson nodded, "No… They don't… I always respected that about you ground troops…"

Sam nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I never really knew what that meant until I joined the Stargate program."

"They probably don't use that much in the lab," he teased her.

Sam couldn't help but smile at his joke. "No sir, they don't… But I have sat in your seat during Desert Storm."

"Right," he nodded his head, "forgot about that… Is there anything you don't do Colonel?"

Sam thought, "I don't knit, sir, even though General O'Neill did suggest I take it up once."

"Well that's reassuring to hear that you can't do everything!!" he told her as they turned away from the Stargate. "So, how about you show me some more of what you've done here?"

"It'd be my pleasure to, sir. Oh, and I spoke with one of the pilots, he'll have some time around 1300 hours to show you the F-302. And I should finish with the scientists by 1400, so I can take you up then, if that's all right with you sir?"

TBC

A/N: I'm trying to force myself to write the next chapter right now, so if I get some inspiring reviews you may get a treat!


	14. Amazing!

A/N: Here's a couple more chapters for all those of you who have been anxiously waiting! The next few chapters are heavy on dialogue and such. I DO have to let the parties get to know one another!

* * *

"You ready to go up sir?"

Jackson stood up as he finished lacing his boots, "Are you kidding? I've been ready since this morning!!"

Sam smiled at him, "All right then sir. Let's take her up for a spin." She then turned to the Secret Service agent and his pilot, "You okay? You don't look so hot…"

"I'm fine ma'am," he assured.

She stared at him, "Not a fan of roller coasters?" The man shook his head 'no.' "The F-302 runs as smoothly as a Ferrari on a straightaway. You won't feel a thing, I promise you. Just go up there and enjoy the view! Captain, treat him nicely up there."

"No barrel rolls, ma'am?" he asked her with disappointment.

Sam grinned widely at the horrified Secret Service Agent, "Probably not…"

"Damn," he stated teasingly before remembering who he was in the presence of, "Sorry sir."

Robbie patted him on the shoulder as he walked past him, "Don't be!" He then looked over his shoulder at his detail and leaned over and whispered in a not so quiet voice, "Well maybe just let him experience one barrel roll!"

The pilot grinned and looked back as well at the now seriously worried Secret Service agent. "Yes sir!"

Robbie slowed down and waited for his bodyguard to come up alongside him, "Think of this as an assignment on understanding how the mind of your protectee works Agent Cross."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, "Yes sir."

The four walked into the hangar and then split up into the flight pairs.

"With all due respect sir, don't you think that was kind of mean?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe a little… But there have to be some perks to being the Vice President!"

Sam laughed, "Yes sir!"

As he settled into his seat he made a comment, "I blame you all for my behavior."

She looked at him in her mirror with a perplexed look, "How's that sir?"

Before receiving his response, she called into the radio as she pulled out of the hangar, "Eagle 1 ready for take off."

"Eagle 1 you have a go."

"Eagle 1 away," she replied as her aircraft took off.

"That's it?" he asked from behind the Colonel, slightly disappointed.

"Inertial dampeners, sir. We can travel at a quarter the speed of light and not feel a thing… It may not be as exhilarating as pulling four G's in an F-14, but the views much better up here."

He paused and took in the sight as he watched the atmosphere go from a clear blue to a purple and then to being surrounded by a vast expanse of nothing. "Yeah… Definitely better."

They rode around in silence orbiting the planet and the moons, allowing him to absorb the feeling that he was in space. "Did you ever think you would see anything like this?"

Sam looked up and smiled, "Yes sir."

He quickly drew his gaze from outside the window to his pilot.

"I wanted to be an astronaut ever since I can remember… So seeing this little piece of space-no sir. But I knew I'd make it up here one day," she told him as she waved her hands around.

She decided to be bold, "What about you sir?"

"Never in a million years… I just wanted to travel as fast as I could in a jet…"

"Is that why you joined the Air Force?" he asked her as they left the planet's surroundings and headed out into the solar system.

"That's the main reason… My dad was also in the Air Force."

Robbie offered some of his own information, "My dad was a preacher in Mississippi… Joining the Navy was my way to get out of there and see the world… And here I am, now… Traveling around another planet and a different solar system! My God!"

Sam smiled. "Glad we could expand your horizons, sir!"

Robbie chuckled at her response.

"Would you like to take the controls, sir?" she asked him after a half hour of talking about the F-302 and Goa'uld spacecraft.

He looked down at the stick between his legs and then back up at his pilot, "Really?"

Sam nodded her head, "Spade One has the stick."

As he familiarized himself with the controls and played with the ship a little he spoke, "I see someone did their homework."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm a scientist sir, I like doing research."

"I'll remember that… Any chance we can take it down to that planet and see what this baby's made of."

"You have control of the ship, sir. I'm just along for the ride now."

"That's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"The humor you guys have!" He looked at her and then as an afterthought, "And pardon my not being politically correct, but I come from another era."

Sam couldn't help but laugh, "I won't tell anyone sir!"

"I appreciate that! I think the Press Secretary would resent me for awhile if she had to deal with any fall out from my comment."

"The advantages of working in a top secret facility, sir, no PR!"

The VP wholeheartedly agreed with her, "Yeah! What ever happened to just being able to do your job in peace and not having every single thing you do scrutinized in the public eye?"

"I don't know sir," she offered lightly.

As he lowered the aircraft towards the unknown planet's surface he realized what it was about the SGC that he enjoyed, "That's how you all deal with it, isn't it?"

She looked at him quizzically. "Sir?"

"The humor, the banter… I've never felt such a comfortable feeling at a base or on a carrier… And you guys probably have the most important job on the planet. It's a defense mechanism isn't it?"

Sam thought about her answer and hesitated.

"Permission to speak freely Colonel… Off the record."

"We have to sir, otherwise the stress can get to someone… And since we can't share what we do with anyone outside of the base the people on the base become that much closer… And with respect to SG-1 and General O'Neill… Well, sir, we worked together alongside one another for over seven years… You get to know your teammates really well when you're stuck on another planet… So, yeah I guess you could say the humor is a defense mechanism, it probably stops us from wanting to kill each other…" She looked up and smiled slyly, "Especially between the General and Daniel!"

He had a hard time controlling the ship through his laughter, he definitely saw what she was talking about, he could see each one getting on each other's nerves. "I can see that! It probably doesn't help that the General is a bad influence."

She smiled triumphantly at the Vice President, "Something like that sir!"

"How is he as a commander?" he asked her seriously.

She seriously answered him, "Everything I learned about being a field team leader, I learned from him."

Robbie interjected, "No one get's left behind?"

Sam looked back at him, "Yes sir. He upholds that value so much that it spread to the whole base, not just to SG-1 when he was leading it. We all know that if we go out there and something goes wrong, everyone at the SGC will do everything they can to bring us home, sir. In the field, I would want him backing me up."

"And with the science?" he asked her with a smile, he'd already seen his reaction to science.

Sam smiled, "He knows what he doesn't know, sir. He trusts the scientists to know what they are doing."

"He has the utmost confidence in you especially," he informed her. "The other night he told me about some of your ideas that have saved Earth and our allies."

Sam looked down humbly.

"Sometimes I think he has too much faith in me coming up with a plan, sir."

"No, I don't think so… I think he just knows he can trust you, he has faith in you and your abilities Colonel… And so do I."

"Thank you, sir, but I haven't done anything alone, we do it all as a team."

Robbie smirked, "And you're humble too I see."

She returned the smile, "Yes, sir."

"What else can you tell me about General O'Neill?"

"He's very loyal, sir. And as much as he'd like others to think that he's not smart, he is." She laughed as she thought of some of his other characteristics, "He hates paperwork!"

"Don't we all?"

"Yes, sir," she couldn't help but laugh.

TBC

A/N: I'm not completely sure what Robbie Jackson's call sign was, but a website stated that it was Spade One, so I'm going to use that.

Also, Robbie Jackson's behavior is probably most definitely a lot more loose than you would find in Clancy's novels. Then again he probably never would have travelled to another planet or gone up into space. So my take is that he would let loose and just enjoy it and set aside protocol just a little bit!

Now remember to review!!


	15. So Tell Me

"Lt. Colonel, I don't think I'll ever be able to adequately thank you for this experience," he told her as they walked away from the parked F-302.

"Seeing your expression was thanks enough, sir… And if you're ever in the neighborhood, feel-"

"Yes of course, because the Alpha Site is right around the corner from the White House!" he teased her.

Sam laughed openly at his remark, "With our technology, it almost is sir! But, seriously, if you're ever in Colorado, we might be able to work something out."

"Don't tempt me Colonel! I might ask to become rated in one of these and then Jack would have to look for another Vice President!" he laughed.

"Yes sir," she smiled as she led them over to the other flight pair.

"So what'd you think Agent Cross?" Robbie yelled.

"I'm glad I got the opportunity sir," he offered.

The Captain piped up, "Sir, he thinks we're all crazy!"

The Agent's eyes went wide, "Sir, I-"

Robbie laughed, "Relax Cross… If you think flying one of these was crazy be glad I still don't fly for the Navy… Crazy is trying to land a jet on a lily pad in the middle of the ocean at night with fifteen foot squalls."

"And I bet you miss it sir," Sam stated.

"Hell yes!"

Twenty minutes later they were exiting the locker room. "So where can a man get himself some chow?"

"Captain, would you mind taking the Vice President to the commissary?"

"Not at all, ma'am… If you'll follow me sir."

Robbie stared at Sam, "You're not going to join us?"

"Actually there's a few things I wanted to check on in the lab," she told him.

Robbie shook his head, "Did you eat lunch?"

She stared at him as he continued with his odd questions, "Yes, sir."

"What'd you eat?"

"An apple, sir."

"That's it?"

"I wasn't hungry," she told him as she realized she felt like she was being questioned by General O'Neill.

He shook his head, "Come on. You're going to join us for lunch and tell us about your work on the Stargate Program."

"Sir, I-"

"General O'Neill told me I would have to look out for you," he told her sternly.

"He what?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "He asked me to make sure you ate one good meal while he was gone."

Her eyes went wide, "Please tell me you're kidding sir?" He smiled back at her. "This is so embarrassing," she mumbled as she led them to the commissary.

"So Colonel, how were you able to design a program for the Stargate when you didn't quite know what it was capable of?"

"I only worked on it for two years before we got it to work. But work on the Stargate had been going on for fifteen years before Daniel figured out the chevrons and what they were exactly. We didn't know that it created a wormhole until after we connected to Abydos the first time, sir. Most of the key understanding of the Stargate didn't take place until the year following the first mission."

"Yes, but you still had a dialing program operational before then," he pointed out.

"Yes, sir. That took a lot of work from a lot of people," she replied humbly.

"How did you interface the computers with the Stargate without a… what's that thing called?"

"We call it a DHD – Dial Home Device. Sir, are you sure you really want to know how? It gets pretty technical."

"I think you've been hanging around General O'Neill too long Colonel. I studied electrical engineering remember?"

She lowered her head and smiled, "Yes sir. Well you see…"

And for the next hour she continued to explain to him how they had MacGyver'ed a computer system for the Stargate, the programs she had created to account for spatial drift, and the iris she had helped design.

"My God! You're a genius!"

"Hardly, sir!"

"Have any of your plans to save the planet not worked?" he asked her.

"Actually sir, some of them haven't worked."

He stared at her wide eyed. He then leaned over conspiratorially, "I don't know if you've noticed, but the planet's still there!"

She chuckled, "Yes sir. But you asked me if any of my ideas hadn't worked, and some of them haven't."

He leaned his head back, "But Plan B, C, or D worked?"

She shrugged her shoulders in response.

He turned to the Captain, "See! A genius! Could you come up with three back up plans if your first one failed?"

He shook his head, "Not when the fate of the planet rested on my ideas, sir."

"Thank you very much Captain!" he replied.

"Lt. Colonel Carter, please report to Laboratory 3 immediately! Colonel Carter report to Laboratory 3 immediately!"

Sam looked up at the loudspeakers that bailed her out of the humbling accolades coming from the Vice President. "Sir, if you'll excuse me?"

He smiled at her, "Yeah of course, I'll see you later."

"Yes sir," she told him before turning and heading to Laboratory 3.

TBC 


	16. A Little History

A/N: So this is kind of a filler chapter, ie one where they get to know what makes each other tick. After this chapter, the next few chapters should come out pretty rapidly. I have most of them down, I'm just working on polishing them up. So expect at least another chapter perhaps tomorrow!

* * *

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that feeling," Tony Bretano stated as they stepped out of the event horizon on the current Tok'ra base planet. 

"Don't worry sir, this is our last stop on our Tour de Space!" Jack happily told him as he slapped him on the back and lead them away.

"Captain, what have we got?"

"I just radioed the Tok'ra, they're sending someone to meet you, sir."

"Good job! We're going to go have a chat with our friends. Watch the door for us will ya?"

The man smiled as he accepted his orders, "Yes sir."

"Who's on this planet Jack?" the President asked.

"That would be the Tok'ra."

"And who are they again?" Secretary Bretano asked.

Daniel answered this one, knowing that Jack's response wouldn't make the Secret Service agents feel any better. "The Tok'ra are symbiotes, unlike the Goa'uld who are parasites."

Teal'c offered further information, "The Tok'ra have been fighting against the Goa'uld for over two thousand years. They believe in only taking willing hosts and sharing the body in a mutually beneficial relationship… Sam's father, General Jacob Carter, became a host approximately seven years ago."

"Why?"

"He was dying of cancer… The Tok'ra offered him a second chance if he became host to Selmac. He took it."

Cathy shook her head, "I can't believe someone would relinquish control of their body… Have any other members of the SGC become hosts?"

The three men of SG-1 all shared a look with each other.

"Uh… yeah… three… sort of…" Daniel explained.

Jack and Cathy looked at one another deciding whether or not to push the, at least what seemed to be sensitive, subject. They decided not to push it any further.

They continued walking in silence for several more yards before Jack finally spoke in a distant and troubled voice. "A Lieutenant - a kid named Jason Elliot, Carter and myself."

The eyes of everyone in the President's group went wide upon hearing this revelation.

They were saved from the awkward moment when they saw their escort approaching.

"That's Malek," Daniel pointed. "Actually Malek is the Tok'ra, the host is named Shavra. Don't be alarmed if his eyes glow and he speaks in a very metallic voice."

Ding leaned over and whispered to his mentor, "Right, because we see that all the time."

"General O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c. It is good to see you again," Malek greeted them.

Daniel waved, Teal'c bowed his head, and O'Neill spoke, "Yeah long time no see!"

They all came to a stop as they stood in front of each other.

Malek addressed the crowd and spoke in the characteristic voice of the Tok'ra. "I am Malek of the Tok'ra. Welcome."

Daniel decided to perform the introductions. "Malek, this is the leader of our nation, President John Ryan, his wife…"

Once the introductions had been finished, Malek lowered his head and Shavra spoke. "And I am Malek's host, Shavra."

"How long have you been host to Malek?" Cathy Ryan asked.

"Nearly three hundred years."

Ryan whistled in shock. "Wow, that's a long time."

Shavra shrugged his shoulders, "Malek is over two thousand years old."

Not really caring about the personal details, Jack O'Neill inquired after another Tok'ra. "So where's Jake?"

Shavra looked at him quizzically, "Who?"

"Jacob… Selmak," he clarified.

Malek answered, "Selmak is currently on a mission."

"Where?"

Malek stared at him, "On a covert mission for the rest of the High Council." They continued walking towards the entrance to the Tok'ra base as Malek provided them with more information. "Selmak is one of the oldest and wisest Tok'ra. She is a senior member of the Tok'ra High Council."

"She?" Bretano asked.

Daniel answered this one understanding their confusion, "Yes, the Tok'ra are kind of asexual but they tend to have masculine or feminine personalities."

They accepted the information warily.

"And despite being on the ruling council, Selmak still goes on missions?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," he obviously replied. "Selmak's abilities and knowledge are essential for many missions."

"Kind of reminds me of another old operative I know," Ding teased.

"Any chance I can go on any missions of my own Agent Price?" Ryan asked. "If a two thousand year old can, I should be able to," he pointed out.

* * *

An hour later they had breaked for dinner. 

The two races were mingling amongst each other. At one point, Cathy pulled Jack aside, "Can I talk to you?" she asked him indicating with her eyes that she'd prefer to speak in private.

"Yeah sure," he told her as he looked around for a hallway for them to head down.

When they found a private room, Jack asked her a question first, "So what do you think so far?"

"This is all so unbelievable… I'm still kind of in shock at knowing what I now know… I don't think I'll ever look at the stars the same way."

Jack nodded his head, "Yeah… Sometimes it's hard to remember to just enjoy the beauty of the night sky… You can actually see the Alpha Site's sun from Earth."

"Really?"

"Yeah it's in the constellation Auriga, it's called Rho Aurigae… It's between Gemini and Perseus, above Taurus," he explained to her.

"Still have that telescope?" she asked him remembering how much he loved that thing.

"Yeah… Carter's got a program that maps out the planets we've been to and the stars visible from Earth. We hooked it up to my telescope one night."

"What happened with you and Colonel Carter?" she asked him gently.

He looked at Cathy as he realized what she was referring to. "We were evacuating a planet that was under attack from the Goa'uld. Carter tried to resuscitate a man, a Tok'ra was hiding out in that body. When she bent down to help, the Tok'ra entered through her mouth."

"Wait, I thought they only took willing hosts?"

"Yeah…" he stated disgustingly. "She supposedly only did it because she was in danger of dying and there was an assassin after it."

Cathy proceeded cautiously, "What happened?"

"The assassin found her and almost killed Carter… Jolinar, the Tok'ra, died to save her life… The snake died within her body and left a naquada marker…"

"Her physical make-up was altered?" she asked as the doctor in her revealed itself.

"Yeah…"

"What happened when you became a host?"

"I had no other choice… I had contracted a disease that would have killed me, and the Tok'ra had a snake in need of a host… It was only supposed to be temporary and only until it could heal me…"

"What happened?"

He stared at the ground as he remembered the misadventure that Kanan had taken him on as he sought revenge against Baal. It had resulted in a long painful torturous stay at the hands of the sadistic Goa'uld.

"Nothing good," he distantly replied.

As she studied Jack she recognized the expression on his face. She'd seen it once before on his face, after his return from Iraq – when he had been a POW. Her heart went out to him, she could only guess what he had endured and the memories that probably had been revisited.

"I'm truly am sorry Jack," she told him as she came up beside him and affectionately grabbed his arm.

He looked at her and mustered his best smile, "It wasn't your fault."

She smiled back at him, "Just promise me you won't let it eat away at your soul."

Jack pondered her words. It had been almost four years since his run in with Baal. And the event hadn't consumed or changed him the way that his time in Iraq had. He wondered why and he realized that it was because of his team. Daniel, in his ascended state, had saved him by offering him hope. And afterward they had never pushed him for an explanation, they had just been there for him. Given him the space he needed while silently supporting him and giving him things to focus on. That and there was Carter in his life now.

And it wasn't that he didn't love Sarah. It was the events surrounding his captivity that had made it hard for him to move on after Iraq.

He silently laughed at the thought that occurred to him. When he had first learned of the Stargate program, he was a man without purpose. But in ten years of serving his planet alongside three remarkable people, he had been restored him to life. He once again had a soul that could be hurt. And that, he decided, was a good thing – to be alive.

"I promise."

TBC

NEWS FLASH: Reviews of stories inspire authors!


	17. Unexpected

"Colonel, this is Bates, come in!" the voice called out.

Ding looked down as his radio crackled with life. He looked over at the Marine Colonel standing next to him who answered, "This is Reynolds. What have you got Captain?"

"Sir someone is trying to dial in, please advise."

Colonel Reynolds spoke to the Tok'ra representative standing with them. "Are you guys expecting anyone?"

"No."

Reynolds activated his radio, "Take cover, the Tok'ra aren't expecting anyone. Report back as soon as you can."

"Yes sir."

Ding and Reynolds tensely waited as they gripped their machine guns even tighter. A minute later their radios came to life again and they heard a whispered voice. "Sir, we got twenty-one, repeat twenty-one, Jaffa just arrive through the Stargate! I'm guessing more are on the way!"

"Shit!" Reynolds yelled under his breath. He then turned to the Tok'ra operative next to them, "Get in there and tell them we got company and that Ding and I are going to go take a look and try to secure the Stargate."

The two soldiers then took off at a run as they headed the mile back to the Gate. "Captain, Ding and I are on our way. Hold your position and stay out of sight."

"Yes sir!" he whispered through the radio.

As they ran, Ding asked Reynolds about Jaffa tactics, "What's their plan normally?"

"Changes every time!"

Ding looked up at a ridge that was coming up on their left. "Sir, do you think they'll hover around the Gate?"

"Some of them will, yeah… Why?"

"Well we need to secure that area first, right?" he asked as he looked over at the man running next to him. "Well, I can help those guys at the Gate from up there," he said as he pointed up at the ridge.

"We're still three quarters of a click from the Gate!"

"I'm a sniper remember!"

Reynolds looked over at the Latino man and nodded his head. "Let's go!" They both headed up the ridge to find Chavez a vantage point that looked down on the meadow where the Stargate was.

---

The Tok'ra operative ran into the main chamber, "A group of Jaffa arrived through the Stargate!"

All heads turned at the intrusion as shock and fear registered on the faces.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed as he looked over at Teal'c, "Can't things ever go smoothly?"

Andrea turned and glared at the General, "This happens to you a lot?"

She didn't receive a response as O'Neill motioned Teal'c, "Teal'c…"

Teal'c bowed his head, "Mr. Clark and I will secure our path back to the Stargate." The two men then took off running through the chambers. The General then turned to Per'sus and spoke quietly.

"What the hell were you thinking bringing the President and First Lady to a hostile planet?" Andrea charged the General, this was the last straw for her.

Trying to be the voice of reason, Ryan stepped forward and spoke quietly, "Andrea."

She turned and faced her charge, "Sir, I know you were excited about this trip, but General O'Neill has put you in danger and we," indicating herself and Roy Altman, "are not prepared to take on aliens on another planet!"

O'Neill, who had been ignoring her tirade for the most part, turned away from the Tok'ra's head council member. When he spoke it was from a man in control, "Agent Price. Me and my men have been traveling through the Stargate for over ten years… That's why we're here… We know how to handle this type of situation… I need you to trust me and my men."

"When it comes to the President, I don't-"

"Damn it, they're my friends! Do you think I'm going to let anything happen to them?" he challenged her.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

Daniel cautiously walked up to the pair, "Look you guys, I hate to rain down on your parade, but we need to evacuate this base."

Jack blinked and looked at his friend and nodded, "Daniel stay with Cathy."

Daniel nodded at receiving his 'orders.' He momentarily thought how Jack was reassured to have him watching out for his friend, probably unlike the Secret Service agents who saw him only as an archaeologist. Back when he'd first met Jack, he might not have entrusted him with Cathy's life, but now… Now, things were different… The once soft-spoken archaeologist had evolved into a man who could hold his own in front of a squadron of Jaffa.

He then walked over to Dr. Ryan and pulled out his zat and held it out to her, "Here."

"I'm a doctor…" she told him as she waved her hands in front of her and refused the weapon.

"Ma'am, I respect that… But the zat allows you to shoot someone and stun them… But only shoot someone once. Two times kills and three disintegrates," he explained as he showed her how to 'cock' the weapon.

"Disintegrates?" she asked stunned.

Daniel shrugged, "That's correct, the body disappears… If you have to shoot a Jaffa, I recommend shooting to kill."

"Per'sus, how long will it take for your people to evacuate?" O'Neill asked.

"Several hours…" he replied. Per'sus noted the look on the General's face, "I understand… you must go… We will contact you once we have established ourselves at another base."

"Thanks…You're more than welcome to head to the Alpha Site in the mean time… We'll leave the door open to block any one else from dialing in."

Per'sus nodded his head, "Thank you for the offer, but that won't be necessary. We will head to our own auxiliary base," he then motioned for the Tok'ra who had informed them of their enemies' arrival to accompany the team from Earth and dial up their back-up base once they had left. He then turned to help with his people's evacuation.

Jack then turned back to the rest of the group, "Okay let's head out of here."

---

Ding was settling into position and lining up his scopes when the radio came to life. "Colonel Reynolds, what is the situation?"

"We've got incoming Jaffa. Chavez and I are set up about two-thirds of a click from the Gate." Chavez mildly paid attention to the conversation as he took a peek through his sniper scope and started ID'ing and locating all the Jaffa.

Teal'c was about to ask why they were so far when Clark explained the situation to him, "Ding's got a sniper rifle with him… He can take them out from that distance." 

"Very well, Mr. Clark and I are on our way."

"You better tell the rest of them to start heading back to the Gate. Captain Bates thinks that more Jaffa are on the way."

"Very well, Colonel."

Colonel Reynolds then turned his attention back to Ding, "What do you see?"

"I've got eight Jaffa milling about the Stargate… Do the Goa'uld just find the biggest guys and turn them into Jaffa," he wondered aloud as he noticed the size of the men. Returning to business, "Find out where our boys are."

Reynolds keyed his radio, "Captain, where are you and your men?"

"We're about twenty meters from the Gate at ten o'clock. Thirteen Jaffa just left and split up into two groups, one's headed your way and the others went west."

Ding turned his rifle towards the indicated spot, "I got 'em… Do you see the ones headed for us?"

Reynolds looked through his binoculars and saw seven Jaffa walking along the path below them. "Yeah I got them…"

Without taking his eye from the scope, Ding reached into his bag and pulled out his sight meter and held it out to the man next to him, "Here."

Reynolds took it and aimed it at the Stargate. "Okay, the DHD is 676 meters… And the base of the Stargate is… 683 meters."

Ding quietly adjusted his scope for the new information he was receiving. "And the opposite hill?"

His spotter swung his attention to the crest of the hill, "Crest is 1200 meters… And the fallen tree a third of the way up on the left side is… 1000 meters…"

"Got it…"

"Can you really hit a target that far away?" he asked him skeptically.

"In my sleep, sir," he reassured him. He turned his attention back to the meadow with the Stargate. "Wind is… 10 kilometers per hour heading… northeast…" he muttered to himself as he assimilated all the information and calculated how to aim his shots to adjust for the wind and falling projectile as it traveled over the long distances.

The Colonel looked through the scope and tried to figure out how exactly the young man had determined that bit of information.  
"Sir, I can take it from up here… Teal'c and Mr. C could probably use your help down there…"

"You sure?"

"Yes sir," Ding replied as he kept scanning the area in front of the Gate.

"Okay, keep your channel open," he told him as he took off back down the ridge and started to radio Teal'c and John Clark.

"Let's see how helpful those little snakes are in a few minutes," he challenged his unsuspecting targets.

TBC

A/N: So the action is going to start picking up now. There should be several more chapters out by this weekend. I'm just polishing up the next few chapters. 

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, I really appreciate the kind words and the issues brought up that I must consider. This is my most popular fanfic to date, I hit the Century Club in reviews a few days ago - I can't tell you how happy that makes me! 


	18. Firefight!

A/N: Surprise!! You get two chapters today!

* * *

A minute later, Ding swore under his breath, "You boys at the Gate, you've got two Jaffa coming up on your position from behind you." 

"Where?" the Captain frantically called as he looked behind him.

The Captain was about to key his mike again when he heard two distinctive thuds fifteen yards behind them. "What happened?"

"You're clear," Ding informed them. "What's your status Mr. C?"

"We're just about to take down our four in … twenty-five seconds… It's going to be loud," he warned his protégé.

"Copy… Captain?"

"Yeah?" the Captain guarding the gate replied.

"Our presence here is just about to become public… I'm going to take out the two guards furthest from you at the Gate's six and four o'clock. That leaves you to take care of the ones closest to you. Be ready to go in … ten seconds…" The seconds ticked off slowly and at nine seconds Ding fired off his first round. He was lining up his second shot when the sounds from the ambush below him started.

---

"Teal'c, where are you?" Reynolds asked through his radio as he crouched down five yards off the main road.

Instead of hearing a reply through his radio he heard a low short whistle from the other side of the road. He looked up and saw the two men he was supposed to meet. He looked down the road towards the Stargate, when he deemed it was clear he got up and sprinted across the roadway.

"Teal'c, Mr. Clark," he calmly addressed the men as he looked back down the road awaiting the arrival of the Jaffa.

"Colonel… you got a plan?" John asked.

Reynolds looked at the veteran next to him, "Yeah… kill them before they kill us…" He then surveyed the area around them. "They should be here in about a minute…" He tapped John on the shoulder and motioned for him to go across the street, "Come on, let's go…"

Just as they reached the other side and settled into a spot, they looked back and saw the six Jaffa coming around the bend and into their sight. Clark quickly pulled out his own scope meter and determined their distance. "They're a hundred and fifty meters away… They'll be right in front of us in forty-five seconds."

Reynolds looked over at the man amazed at his abilities but accepted his call. He then keyed his own radio, "Teal'c, be ready to attack in 38 seconds," he told him as he checked his own watch.

"Understood."

"What's your status Mr. C?" came over their ear pieces.

"We're just about to take down our four in…" John looked down at his watch and rechecked the Jaffa's distance before giving his estimate, "twenty-five seconds… It's going to be loud."

He heard his partner confidently reply, "Copy…"

Reynolds quietly whispered, "Whatever you do, if you see a snake or a seriously wounded Jaffa, don't go anywhere near it!"

"Got it," he replied as he observed the approaching group. He noted that most of the soldiers seemed to be guarding another one who walked in the center of the group. Figuring that one to be the leader, he aimed his first shot at the man.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

John Clark squeezed the trigger and waited for the man to fall before aiming for his next target. In the time it took for his bullet to hit its target he heard the familiar sound of a P-90 and the unfamiliar sound of a staff weapon. And, in the distance, he heard the gunfire from the battle at the Stargate and was reassured to know that they were securing their method of egress.

But his bullet never hit the Jaffa in the center. He watched as a force shield rippled away from the site of impact of his bullet.

"It's a Goa'uld!" he heard Reynolds yell next to him over the sound of his machine gun.

Rather than wasting his bullets on the force field, John Clark aimed at the other Jaffa who were crouching and heading for their attackers while the Goa'uld in the center stood defiantly.

They had taken out four of the Jaffa when they saw the Goa'uld in the center raise his arm in the direction of the two military men.

"Take cover!"

Years of training kicked in and Clark dove out of the way. As he rolled out of the way he saw the location he had just occupied be obliterated as the tree he was hiding behind was uprooted.

Teal'c managed to take out one of the other Jaffa with his staff weapon. He then spoke into his radio, "We must penetrate the force shield with a knife!"

Colonel Reynolds and John Clark shared a look with each other and silently came to an agreement that John would throw his knife while the SG team leader would draw his attention.

"Aim for the center of his hand!" he advised him.

The former Navy SEAL crawled through the underbrush to get a better angle on the Goa'uld. He was almost in position when he saw the Goa'uld raise his hand once more. The first blast he sent in Teal'c's direction, the second was aimed at Colonel Reynolds' position and allowed for him to have a better view of the Goa'uld's palm.

John raised his own hand and aimed at his target. He pulled back his hand and brought it forward quickly as he released the knife and watched the knife fly through the air and hit its target.

Unfortunately it didn't stop the Goa'uld before he was able to send another blast at Colonel Reynolds. He watched out of the corner of his eye as he saw the man go flying back in the air.

As the stunned Goa'uld stared at his impaled hand, John and Teal'c both took aim with their weapons and fired.

Neither watched the final death blow on the sole remaining enemy as they rushed to Colonel Reynolds' side. "Colonel Reynolds."

"Over here," they heard the man call out in frustration.

"Are you injured?" Teal'c asked as he stood over him and John checked the Colonel for injuries.

"Yeah… Twisted my ankle and I think one of my ribs is broken…AH! That hurts," he yelled as John ran his hands across the man's chest.

"You'll be fine," he concluded with a smile, "Besides, you're a Marine!"

"Yeah and I'll kick your ass if you don't help me up!"

Clark couldn't help but smile, he figured he knew more ways to kill a man than the marine he helped stand up. But all that was classified. "Yeah… yeah… Come on."

Noting the silence around him, John keyed his radio, "Ding, how's it looking at the Stargate?"

"We're all clear Mr. C."

"General, we need to get out of here!" Colonel Reynolds yelled into his mike as he headed to the Gate with John's assistance, while Teal'c went to escort their guests.

"We're on our way already Colonel!" Jack replied through his mike as they stepped out of the transporter rings the Tok'ra used to access their hidden base.

"O'Neill. I am on my way to provide protection," Teal'c informed his friend.

"Copy that Teal'c."

As Reynolds looked down into the meadow he keyed his mike once again, "Captain dial us out of here! Ding…"

"I've already got the other path covered, sir," Ding informed him.

Seven minutes later the President and his entourage reached the activated Stargate. As the first of them were stepping through, Ding saw the other group of six Jaffa round the corner from the other path. "We got six hostiles!" he called out into his mike as he started to pick them off one by one.

He took down two of them easily before the other four wised up and took cover. "Ding get your ass down here double time!" John called out when he noticed the four surviving Jaffa.

"Roge-o Mr. C!" Ding called out as he picked up his long-range rifle and took off down the hill at a sprint. As he ran down, his mentor, Teal'c and Reynolds laid down some cover fire for him as he approached the gate. Sixty seconds later he stopped and dropped to the ground to take a couple of shots. Ten seconds later it was all over.

"Let's bug out of here," John called out to his son-in-law.

"Roge'o!" Ding replied as he got up from the ground.

As they walked up the steps to the open wormhole, Reynolds stopped him, "That was some mighty fine shooting there… for a spook at least!" he told him with a grin as he limped through the wormhole assisted by Teal'c.

He then turned to his boss, "And I thought I was having an off day!"

"He's a jarhead, they don't know any better!" John teased him as they stepped through and began their near instantaneous journey across 3000 light-years of space.

TBC

A/N: Hope you liked the action... I don't think I'm that good at writing it because I can't give enough detail where you actually feel like you're in the midst of the battle as some others have the ability to. But since this isn't an action story, this'll have to do!


	19. What Now?

The inner track of the Stargate housed 28 floors below Cheyenne Mountain began rotating. 

Master Sergeant Davis looked up as soon as he heard the familiar rumbling and slammed his hand on the button to seal the iris as his other hand activated the intercom, "Unscheduled off-world activation!"

As he continued to monitor the Gate he waited for General Hammond to appear.

General Hammond looked up as soon as he saw the flashing lights and heard the announcement. Part of him wanted to continue on to the infirmary, but he knew he had to head back to the Stargate, he was currently in charge of the base. He then turned around and headed back to the core of the base.

Instead of entering the control room, he ran into the embarkation room and began issuing orders. "Get these people out into the hallway!"

Before him, the embarkation room was filled with Marines aiming at the activated Stargate and medics tending to the wounded who had recently come through…

* * *

Less than two hours ago he was sitting in his old office going over some recent team reports when he heard a familiar klaxon sound, "Unscheduled off world activation!" 

He arose from the desk and rushed to the control room, "Who do we have off-world Sergeant?" he asked as he watched the Sergeant seal the iris.

"SG-1 and SG-3 are scheduled to be on the Tok'ra home planet currently…" he replied as he scanned the logs, "And SG-9 is in trade negotiations with the Pangareans."

"Very well," Hammond acknowledged as they all waited for the Stargate to connect. When he saw the shimmering light behind the Stargate he asked the inevitable question, "Are we receiving a signal?"

Davis looked at his screens as it compared the incoming signal with all current registered signals, "Yes sir… It's the alpha site… Incoming radio transmission."

"Open up a channel."

"Yes, sir."

"This is General Hammond."

Those in the control room heard a frantic voice, "Sir, we've had an explosion here at the Alpha site! We've got a lot of wounded, several of them severe… We're requesting immediate assistance from the doctors there!"

Hammond blinked, he wondered if it was an accident or an attack. He issued his orders to those on the base, "SG teams 4, 8, and 10 report to the Stargate for an immediate departure to the Alpha Site!" He then turned to another airman, "Notify Dr. Brightman about the situation. I want him and the other doctor on call and three nurses to accompany the teams to the Alpha Site and I want the rest of the medical team up here ASAP! And recall all off duty medical personnel!"

"Yes, sir!" she replied before picking up the phone and calling the infirmary.

Hammond then motioned for Davis to reconnect him with the Alpha Site, "We're mobilizing our teams to send through right away… What happened? Was the Alpha Site attacked?"

"Negative sir… It came from the research section… We're not sure what happened yet."

He suddenly recalled who was still at the Alpha Site, "Is the Vice President okay?"

There was a pause from the other side.

General Hammond nervously waited for word from the base. He was starting to think how they would explain anything happening to the VP when the radio came to life, "He's alright sir, he's right here!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay send him and any other wounded that can be transported through." He then motioned to Sergeant Davis to open the iris. "Send through as many as you can in ten minutes before we have to disengage and send our teams through."

"Very well sir," he heard before the connection was terminated.

"I want all available personnel ready to receive the injured! Get a triage unit set up in the gate room and make sure the infirmary is cleared of any non-life-threatening cases! Come on people let's get a move on this!"

And the base he had run for seven years responded as they were trained to, like a well-oiled machine. Everyone involved in the Stargate program was part of a family and whenever anyone was injured the whole base felt mobilized out of concern.

A steady stream of wounded started coming through the Stargate as General Hammond headed down to the embarkation room. He arrived at the same time as the medical response teams who began triaging the wounded as they stepped onto the ramp. Hammond looked up and saw the Vice President assisting his bodyguard through the Stargate.

"Mr. Vice President… what happened?"

"General," the aviator replied as he handed off his bodyguard to a corpsman. "I'm not sure… We were eating in the mess hall when alarms went off to clear the base…"

"What?" was his shocked reply.

"It must have been something in the research section… Colonel Carter ran in there…" he added almost as an afterthought. He then turned his attention to his bodyguard, "How you doing Kevin?"

"I'll be fine sir," he replied trying to refuse assistance and perform his duty of protecting the Vice President.

"Like hell you are!" the VP replied, "Your shoulder is dislocated, you've probably broken a few ribs and you probably have a concussion! You are not fine!"

"Sir-"

This time General Hammond interrupted him, "I'm sure you are son, but right now we need to get you checked out." He then looked around the room and called out, "Sergeant Matthews!"

The man ran up, "Yes sir?"

"I want you to escort the Vice President and this young man to the infirmary. Make sure he gets patched up as soon as possible and then take them to the conference room. Don't let anything happen to this man son."

Matthews snapped off a salute, "Yes sir… If you'll follow me," he told the pair as he began to lead them to the infirmary.

An hour later the three men entered the control room in search of Hammond.

"Have you learned anything else from the Alpha Site?" the former aviator asked.

Hammond looked up from the report he had been handed by an airman. "Mr. Vice President," he acknowledged before finishing his discussion with the airman, "Notify the Academy Hospital and tell them we'll be transporting some of the less injured to their facilities."

The General then returned his attention to the Vice President, "Not much… So far we've had thirty wounded come through the Stargate, six of them are critical, there are still four wounded there who are too critical to move. We have seven confirmed casualties and another twenty-two still unaccounted for."

"Do you know what caused the explosion?"

Hammond shook his head, "We're getting scattered reports about what exactly happened… Apparently most of the serious damage was limited to the research section, but the hangar also suffered some damage.

"And Colonel Carter?" he asked with concern. During his time at the Alpha Site he had come to enjoy her company and her abilities.

"She's one of the missing…" he stated. He hoped that they found her alive, he didn't know what he'd tell her father, or the rest of SG-1, including the former team leader, otherwise.

Everyone at the SGC waited for more news from the Alpha Site, everyone ready to assist as soon as the klaxons blared announcing an off-world activation of the Stargate. Over the next half hour wormholes with the Alpha Site were established twice to transport more of the wounded and provide more information for the SGC.

On the last communication with the Alpha Site they were warned to have several surgeons from the Academy Hospital on hand. They had made contact with a group of survivors in a pocket of rubble, but they were still working on safely digging them out. Included in that group was Sam Carter, who was reportedly badly injured.

Hammond had made several trips down to the infirmary already to check on the status of some of the injured personnel. So far, they hadn't lost any more and had moved four of the critical patients to the Academy Hospital. He was walking amongst the beds thinking it was moments like this when he was most proud of the staff here at the SGC. They all pulled together and got the job done, they always performed at their best when tragedy struck. Unfortunately, in ten years of existence, the SGC had proven what it was made of more than its fair share. He was speaking with one of the nurses when the klaxons once again went off and he rushed off to the control room.

"What have we got?"

The Sergeant waited to answer until he received a signal, "It's the Alpha Site, sir."

"Open up a communications line."

He waited for Sergeant Davis to carry out his orders, and once he received the okay from the man at his workstation, he leaned down and spoke into the microphone. "What's the status over there?"

"Sir, we've pulled out the personnel who were trapped in that pocket. We've got five more out, Colonel Carter and Captain Warner are in critical condition."

Hammond paused before speaking to the man next to him, "Open the iris." He took another deep breath and spoke into the radio, "Okay, we're ready to receive more from there. Send them over as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

Hammond stood up and looked around the room. They all saw the concern in his eyes, they all knew how close he was with all the members of SG-1, and throw in the fact that Sam was the daughter of one of his oldest friends…

But he wasn't the only one deeply concerned about the Colonel's condition. In ten years of service at the SGC she had saved their lives countless times, in addition to becoming friends with a majority of the base...

* * *

"Are we receiving a signal?" he asked Davis who was sitting in the control room above him. 

He wondered who it could be, they had just closed a connection with the Alpha Site.

Davis looked at his screen and then toggled the intercom for the room below him, "It's SG-3 sir!"

Hammond turned and hurried up to the control room. As he entered he noticed that the Vice President had rejoined them in the control room upon hearing that one of the teams escorting the President had dialed in.

As he walked in he noted that communications had already begun, "… Repeat, we had 21 Jaffa show up here at the Tok'ra home world! We've taken care of 15 so far… The President and SG-1 are on their way back to the Stargate now…"

Hammond's eyes went wide, what more could go wrong today? "Are there any injuries Captain?" he asked recognizing the voice. He looked down at the embarkation room as they continued to clear the room, he didn't know if the base could handle any more injured.

"None reported so far, sir… The President and his guests were well away from any action that took place," he assured his former commander. "They're on their way back now… they should be here in under ten minutes!"

"Very well Captain, we'll keep the gate open… Be careful son."

"Yes sir."

As he waited, he wondered what he was going to tell SG-1. Nothing would be able to prepare them for the news he had to deliver to them.

TBC (I promise!)

So let's be honest with ourselves... how many of you saw that one coming?

If you did that means you may have picked up on the little foreshadowing I gave a few chapters ago and so kudos to you!


	20. Bad News

Seven minutes later they opened the iris and awaited their guest's arrival.

Lt. Peters was the first one to step through. He was momentarily shocked by the site that greeted him on the Earth side of the Stargate before he turned to help receive the civilians after their tumultuous ride through the wormhole.

As they watched the first man step through the Stargate, Hammond and the Vice President headed down to the Gate room.

Cathy Ryan was the next one to stumble out of the wormhole escorted by Daniel, followed closely by her husband and then Secretary Bretano. The two Secret Service Agents weren't that far behind them and stepped through with Captain Bates and Sergeant Simms.

When they all gathered their bearings they all looked around the Gate room that looked like a field hospital with bandages strewn about and puddles of blood scattered around the floor.

"What happened?" Daniel asked as he looked around the room.

General Hammond scanned the crowd for the rest of SG-1before focusing on the archaeologist standing in front of him. "Where are the others?"

"On their way," he replied curtly. He then reiterated his question, "What happened sir?"

He steeled himself for the reaction he would receive, "There was an explosion at the Alpha Site…" he began before he stopped when he saw Jack O'Neill step out of the event horizon.

"Is everyone okay?" a concerned Daniel asked.

Taking a look around the room, he asked the obvious question, "What the hell happened here?" as he found Hammond standing at the base of the ramp. He worked his way down and stood before him. "What happened George?" he calmly asked as he motioned at the blood and the bandages.

When Hammond spoke, it was quietly, "There was an accident at the Alpha Site…"

O'Neill interrupted him this time, "Is everyone okay?"

"No… So far there have been eight casualties and over forty wounded." He paused as he saw Jack's eyes glaze over with shock at the tragedy that had struck one of their bases. "Jack…" he began softly as he gained his attention and looked at Daniel as well, "Colonel Carter was seriously injured in the explosion."

Both men's mouths gaped in shock at the news they received. "Where is she?" the base CO finally uttered.

"She just came through, they took her to the infirmary," he informed them.

Daniel immediately took off for said infirmary. Jack paused momentarily before his former CO and sought understanding. He received it, "Go on son, I'll take care of things down here."

O'Neill quickly nodded his head as he took off after Daniel.

General Hammond watched the two men run out of the room. He then returned his attention to the group standing before him, "Mr. President," he stated in a tired voice.

The President's face and voice were filled with concern, "What happened?"

"We're not quite sure…"

"Are you alright Mr. Vice President?" Andrea asked, hating that she had to ask about this one man before the man who had lost eight men already in the past few hours.

"I'm fine," he assured her before nodding at his own secret service agent, "and he's been better."

The other female in the group spoke up, "General, is there anything I can do?"

Hammond turned his attention to the petite woman. He stared at her momentarily when he remembered that she was a doctor, "I'm sure they'd greatly appreciate it… Sergeant Matthews, take the First Lady to the infirmary."

Cathy nodded her head in thanks and began to follow the airman out of the room.

Roy began to follow her, he was coming up on Agent Price and saw that she was about to object, "You can't stop her," he knowingly whispered to her as he caught up with his protectee.

President Ryan stepped over to his bodyguard, "Andrea."

She looked over at her Boss. Looking at his face she understood, she remembered what had happened less than a year ago when the First Lady had insisted on helping at the hospital when the Ebola virus had reached the soils of their country.

She nodded her head in acceptance of the situation. The obligation she felt to protect the President and his family was the same one that the First Lady felt towards anyone who was injured.

Just then the intercom came to life, "Sir, Teal'c and the others are returning to base!"

They all looked up at the event horizon and saw Teal'c escorting Colonel Reynolds through the wormhole, and then the two CIA operatives sharing a laugh. All their faces turned serious when they saw the state of the Gate room.

Reynolds' teammates came up to help him as Teal'c headed to the former base commander.

"General Hammond?"

"Teal'c," he began quietly, "Colonel Carter was injured in a blast on the Alpha Site, she's down in the infirmary now."

For the first time in his acquaintance with Teal'c he watched the tall Jaffa take off without any sort of acknowledgement or permission. He watched as Teal'c ran out the door and threw his staff weapon at one of the Marines guarding the Gate.

Jack and Robbie shared a look, wondering how one person could cause such a reaction among several battle hardened soldiers, not to mention that General Hammond was seriously concerned for her well being.

Hammond turned to his guests, "Mr. President, if you'd like I can arrange for your transport off the base."

"I'd like to stick this out with your men, if that's all right with you?" He felt the need to see how this base operated when tragedy struck. He needed to understand what they were going through. It was a leadership function he felt obligated to fulfill. The personnel on this base risked their lives to defend their world, he needed to know who they were.

The President looked over at his lead agent. He saw in her eyes that she understood, she didn't like the situation, but knew that he felt the need to stay. She sent him a small nod in return.

Hammond nodded his head, "Yes sir. If you'd like I can set you up in some VIP quarters-"

"Actually, the conference room will be fine." Ryan suggested, he didn't want to be far from the action. "I'd like to discuss what we all saw," he offered.

"Of course, Mr. President," he told them as he led them away. He took them through the control room and indicated the stairs up, "Sir, if you'll-"

Ryan nodded his head, "You have a job to do and a base to check up on."

"Thank you, sir." Hammond then quickly turned away from his guests and turned to Sergeant Davis. "Dial up the Alpha Site!"

"Yes sir," was the quick reply as the inner ring of the Stargate began to spin.

-

When Jack O'Neill caught up with Daniel he was quickly exiting the main infirmary entrance.

"Where is she?" he called out as he slowed down to a fast walk.

Daniel looked over his shoulder as he continued down the hall, "She's in X-ray."

"What'd they say?" he asked as he caught up with his friend.

Daniel looked over at him knowingly, "Nothing."

They entered the X-ray room's ante room where they were met by a nurse who had seen them enter. "Sir, you can't come any further!"

"Like hell I can't!"

"No you can't. They're taking some scans right now! You can't go in there!" she forcefully told him.

The General stared at the nurse in front of him trying to stare her down. But it didn't work. "Where's the doctor?"

The nurse gently answered him, "She's on her way General. She'll explain the Colonel's condition once she has the opportunity." The nurse then stepped back, "I have to get back, sir."

O'Neill stared at the door she had just gone through. He then looked over at Daniel, whose face was as distraught as his own. They don't know how long they stared at each other, but they were eventually pulled from their morbid thoughts when they heard the page.

"Dr. Brightman to X-ray, STAT!"

They both looked up and processed the overhead order. They were only beginning to understand the implications when the doctor and another nurse came charging into the room and on into the room where only authorized personnel were allowed.

Both men ran up to the door and crashed through as well. They watched the doctor and nurses standing over Sam's badly injured body.

They stared in shock as they heard the doctor order one of the technicians, "Charge to 200!"

"Charging," the tech stated as the doctor continued doing chest compressions. 

Once the defibrillator had reached the proper amount she handed him the paddles as another nurse applied the conducting lubricant to them.

They watched in stony silence as the doctor positioned the paddles on Sam's chest and yelled out, "Clear!"

They jumped back as they watched Sam's body accept the electric shock as her body jolted up from the gurney she was lying on.

"Still nothing!" another nurse stated as Teal'c made his way into the room and also observed in silence.

"Charge to 250!"

Fifteen seconds later, her teammates jumped with her body again as the doctor transmitted the electricity through her body.

"We got a heartbeat!" a tech stated as Dr. Brightman stepped back and started issuing orders.

"Okay, we gotta get her to the O.R. now! Make sure they have it ready by the time we get there," she told her staff as she began to roll the gurney out of the room.

The three men closely followed the gurney. "How is she?" Daniel frantically asked.

Brightman looked over her shoulder and noticed the group of men, "I won't lie to you, not good."

They were coming up on the entrance to the O.R. The doctor looked over her shoulder once again and saw that the group of men were still in the same spot as a few seconds ago. She saw the fear and pain in their eyes, she so wanted to help them. She pushed the gurney through and turned to the three men, "She's a fighter sir. We're going to do everything we can." She turned and entered the O.R.

The door swung close and Sam's teammates all stared at it blankly.

Neither of them moved, they were all numb from the news they had received.

Daniel was the first to move as he stepped up to the door and tried to look through the window and catch sight of Sam. Not seeing anything he turned and stepped to the wall next to the door and lowered himself to the ground as he cradled his head in his hands.

Teal'c moved to stand across from the door, keeping a vigil and making sure that no harm would come from outside the walls of the O.R.

And O'Neill paced outside the doorways. It took all his power to not go running into that room and demand to know what was going on. But his mind told him that he had to stay out there and let the doctors and nurses do their jobs.

Thirty long minutes later they all jumped when a nurse came out of the room.

The nurse who was focused on getting more of Carter's plasma and red blood cells wasn't ready for the onslaught she faced.

"How's she doing?"

"What's her condition?"

"What is Colonel Carter's condition?"

She blinked at the men around her, "I'm sorry sir, I can't say… If you'll excuse me, I need to get some more of her blood."

At that, the three men let her pass. When she returned they again asked her, "What's going on in there?"

"Sir, one of the doctors will be out to explain as soon as they can," she told them as she snaked her way through the crowd and back into the O.R.

They continued to wait outside those doors, anxious to hear any word from anyone who would tell them anything of her condition. They all paced and sighed. Wondered what would happen if she did die, how they would be able to carry on.

And for the first time in a long time, Jack O'Neill prayed.

TBC

Another cliffhanger? What an evil author!!

Wait a minute... I'm the author! 


	21. What Happened?

General Hammond looked down at his watch, he sighed as he read the numbers: 2317. 

He rubbed his hands over his eyes, he forgot how stressful and quickly things could happen here at the SGC. A little over six hours had elapsed since the initial transmission from the Alpha Site had been sent through, and just a few since the President had returned. He'd recently been informed that Colonel Carter had been taken into the O.R.

The only somewhat good news he had received was that all personnel from the Alpha Site were accounted for. The bad news was that this was the single most bloodiest day for the SGC, nine lives had been lost. That meant he had nine letters to write. Nine families that would never know that their loved ones died in the service of their planet.

"I'll be down in the infirmary," Hammond informed Sergeant Davis. As an afterthought he turned, "And keep trying to dial up the Tok'ra home world."

"Yes sir."

Hammond quickly made his way to the infirmary. He checked in the main room and was pleased to see that there were less bodies in there than before. He walked up to one of the nurses, "How are they doing?"

She looked up from the chart she was writing in, "We transferred a few more to the Academy Hospital, sir. Those that are still here are still under observation, but they should all pull through fine."

He looked around the room, "Where are all the doctors?"

"They're all in the O.R.'s working on Colonel Carter, Captain Warner, and Corporal Winters."

"Corporal Winters?" Hammond wasn't aware of the severity of his injuries.

"Yes sir, we were about to transfer him when he crashed. He had some internal bleeding that the ultrasounds didn't pick up."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm not sure, sir," she told him honestly.

Hammond nodded his head as he headed towards one of the beds, "Are you in charge down here than?"

She looked up once again, "I guess so… The First Lady has helped out tremendously sir. She just stepped out for a drink of water."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Hammond walked to one of the beds and picked up one of the charts at the end of the bed and read the name. Sergeant Steven Collins. He scanned his memory trying to determine what his duty at the Alpha Site was. 'Chief of Ground Crew Operations – Second Air Wing of the F-302.'

He looked at the man lying in the bed, his head was wrapped, his right arm was in a cast and there were burns on his left leg.

The man's eyes opened. "General."

"How you feeling Sergeant? Is there anything I can get you?" he asked ready to call a nurse over.

The man blinked and licked his lips as he realized how parched he was, "Some water, sir."

Hammond looked around and found what he was looking for as he poured the man a glass of water and handed it to him.

Once he had quenched his thirst he asked the question that was foremost on his mind, "How bad was it sir?"

He was amazed, the man lying on the hospital bed wasn't asking about his own condition, he was asking about others and the base. "Pretty bad… We lost nine people… A lot of wounded…"

The man closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer for the nine lost souls.

"And the base?"

"Extensive damage to the research section as well as some damage to the hangar," he informed him.

The man's eyes shot open, "Did all the 302's make it out?"

Hammond nodded his head, "Yes," confused by the question.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God!"

Intrigued by his question and response, Hammond questioned him further, "Son, do you know what happened?"

Sergeant Collins looked at the man standing next to his bed, "I don't know what caused the explosion, sir… But I do know that it probably could have been a lot worse."

"Why's that?"

"Colonel Carter ordered me to get the whole fleet mobilized."

Hammond stared at the man, not quite sure why she would order such a thing.

"The F-302's are a bomb waiting for the right trigger," the man on the bed explained. In the past few years he'd had several discussions with Carter concerning the volatility of the F-302s naquada generators. "I worked at Nellis for five years before joining the SGC. The first thing they tell you is: If there's a fire, make sure the planes get out first because of their ordinance and the fuel. The naquada's not just fuel, sir."

Hammond wasn't sure what exactly happened in the research section, but he was amazed at Carter's foresight to have the base cleared as a precaution. "When did she tell you to mobilize the fleet?"

He closed his eyes trying to recall, "I'm not sure sir… We were sending the last two out when the explosion happened… My guess is it took us three minutes to get the planes out of there, and two minutes for pilots to get in the aircraft… Five to six minutes, sir."

He assimilated that with the information he had received from the Alpha Site's commander, the base had been ordered cleared five minutes before the explosion. And even though most of the personnel had cleared the affected areas, it was the shockwave and residual instability of certain sections that had caused most of the injuries.

"Thank you for the information, Sergeant," he told him as one of the nurses came through on one of her rounds of the patients. "Take care of yourself son."

He nodded from his bed, "Yes sir."

Hammond walked around the rest of the room and chatted briefly with those who were awake.

After visiting with the last patient, he looked up and saw a Secret Service agent. He looked into the office and saw that Cathy Ryan was at the desk making a few notes. He nodded at the agent as he entered the office, "Doctor."

She looked up, "General, I was just going to look for you."

"I'll save you the trip," he offered lightly. He looked back out at the full infirmary and then back to the First Lady, "These men and women are grateful to you for helping out. It means a lot to them and me."

She shook off the praises, "I'm just glad I could help."

"How are they doing?"

Joining him in the office doorway she stated her professional opinion, "Most of them will recover without any serious problems… A few of them may suffer from PTSD." She paused and chose her next words carefully, not wanting to offend the General, "Please, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know how there aren't more."

Hammond looked down at the woman not sure what she was implying.

"I never understood the military code of honor… Duty, Honor, Country… I… The constant stress these men and women live with in defending our planet so that the rest of us can live in blissful ignorance that there are a race of beings out there that would love nothing more than to enslave us all or destroy Earth… Not being able to share what you do with anyone outside of this world… I don't know how you deal with it," she admitted.

"It is hard… They love what they do and they're proud of it… And they do get to share it with the rest of us on the base."

She nodded her head, "That's good." But she wondered if that was enough. The stress of secrecy was too much… It had been hard on her own marriage…

She remembered the nightmares.  
The constant wondering if he was safe when traveling.

But, as much as she hated the rules of secrecy, she understood them on a certain level… She had her own oath of patient confidentiality that she strictly upheld.

Deciding to change topics, he began to lead her out of the infirmary, "Do you know anything about the condition of the three in surgery?"

"Well, they just wheeled Corporal Winters into recovery, but I haven't heard anything about the captain or Sam."

He reached out his hand and stopped her, "Doctor…"

She looked at the General next to her. She didn't see a hard ass General. She saw a grandfather, a man who treated everyone under his command as if they were his own children.

"Would you like for me to check with the doctors?"

He smiled at her, "I, and I'm sure SG-1, would greatly appreciate it." He didn't even realize that he had called them SG-1, even though they weren't all officially SG-1.

The trio walked down the hall towards the operating rooms. The first one they came to happened to be the one with Captain Warner in it.

Five minutes later she stepped out and informed him that Captain Warner was stable, but that his leg had been badly crushed in the explosion and they were being forced to amputate his right leg above the knee.

Hammond absorbed the knowledge quietly wondering how this would affect the man's life. As they walked, Hammond spoke quietly, more to himself than to the First Lady. "He's an engineer at the Alpha Site… I wonder if I can keep him on active duty?"

When they came around the corner they saw Sam's teammates waiting anxiously outside of the O.R.

Hearing the footsteps they all looked in their direction as they finally saw someone who would be able to get them some answers. "Cathy…"

She reached out for his arm and squeezed it, "Just give me a minute," she told them as she stepped into the O.R.

During the several long minutes that the five men waited, the rest of the President's entourage showed up.

When Dr. Ryan, M.D., finally did step out slowly, Sam's teammates began to assume the worst.

"How is she?" Jack O'Neill blurted out.

She stared at the three men who obviously cared very deeply for the woman who was laying on a gurney behind her. "She's suffered several serious injuries, most of them internal. She broke a few ribs, unfortunately they are what caused most of the damage. They ended up puncturing her left lung, spleen, and kidney. The most pressing issue is her heart, the pericardium around her heart is filling up with blood… that's why she arrested in X-ray… They're still trying to find the source of the blood… They're probably going to have to remove her spleen, they're not sure about the kidney yet… Both bones in her left forearm are broken, the orthopedic surgeon is going to take care of that later… She also has a few superficial bruises, her right eye is swollen shut right now…"

As they listened to her explain Sam's injuries they all faltered at hearing the amount of injuries she'd suffered. "Is she going to…?" Jack couldn't bring himself to state the worst.

She looked back into the room she had just exited, "The doctors are doing everything th-"

"Cathy!" he pleaded with her.

She looked at her old friend. "If they can find where the blood around her heart is coming from her chances are better… All the injuries she suffered, one can recover from. But I'll be honest," she quickly added before getting their hopes up to high. "She's suffered a lot of trauma, sometimes it can be too much Jack… It really is too early to tell , we need to wait until they find the leak."

Jack looked at Cathy and thanked her for her honest assessment before turning to the O.R. doors and looking through the small window. "Come on Carter… You can't give up!" he quietly ordered.

TBC


	22. Unofficially

A/N: Here's another chapter for you all... This story has taken on a life of it's own, it's a lot longer than I anticipated and it's definitely headed in directions I didn't anticipate. Hopefully though I'll be wrapping this story up soon. Stuff at school is starting to pick up and so I may not as much time to write in the next few weeks. So please bare with me, I promise to you that I will finish this story!

For those of you waiting for the ship to start, give me a few chapters!

Enjoy

* * *

Cathy Ryan followed Daniel out of the infirmary. It was six in the morning by then, and Daniel was the first one to leave Sam's side.

Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter had undergone five hours of surgery to repair the damage she had suffered in the explosion. She had crashed once more while on the O.R. table, but been quickly resuscitated. The doctor's had had to do a thoracotomy to try and locate the site where she was bleeding out, insert several chest tubes to drain the blood in her lungs, remove her spleen in a splenectomy, and they had been able to salvage her kidney when they repaired the damage to the hepatic artery. The doctor's had even gone about correctly setting the bones in her arm.

Through out the entire surgery her teammates had waited outside the O.R. doors waiting for any news on their friend. Many others had stopped by to check on the Colonel's condition. But most of them had stopped at the end of the hallway upon seeing her closest friends still waiting.

It had been three hours since she'd been out of surgery and these three men hadn't left her side since returning to the base and learning of her condition.

She waited outside the entrance for him to return from using the restroom. She felt for these men, she saw the concern they had for the blond doctor. She was thinking about what she had seen when Daniel walked up to the entrance.

She stuck her hand out and implored him to stop, "You all love her, don't you?"

Daniel looked from the First Lady to the last bed where Sam's body lay. He looked at his two closest friends waiting for her to wake up.

"Yeah," he quietly replied.

"A family?"

He paused before answering, "Yeah… they're all I have… Sam's like a sister to me…"

"And Jack?"

He looked sharply at the woman next to him.

"He loves her more than a sister, doesn't he?" she astutely observed.

Daniel stumbled, "They never-"

"I'm not in the military," she reminded him as she too now looked into the infirmary. She saw her old friend sitting in a chair next to her bed with his head propped up by his hands. He looked up and stared at Sam's still body.

As they watched her they were haunted by the sounds emanating from the machines surrounding her bed: the ventilator that was breathing for her, the heart monitor that showed that she was still alive with every ping representing a heart beat.

Time came to a stand still for these men, marked only by the pings from the heart monitor. Each heartbeat giving them hope.

Cathy zeroed in her attention on Jack's face, it looked like he had aged ten years in a few short hours. The man she had seen the past few days was gone, no longer was he an upbeat man, but rather a man whose life depended on hearing the constant repetitive pings from the heart monitor.

She remembered all the interactions she had observed between the two, the teasing, the glances at one another, and the smiles.

And before her eyes she realized that it was a man who would rather die himself then know what it was like to live life without her.

"Why didn't they ever…?" she asked leaving the implied question hanging in the air.

Daniel shrugged as he looked at two of his closest friends. "Regulations… They're not selfish like that, to put their desires before the mission of the SGC…"

Daniel then took a step to reenter and resume his vigil.

"She's going to pull through this," Cathy offered him, "she doesn't seem like someone to quit."

Daniel offered a small smile, "No… No she's not…"

As she continued to watch this small family from the doorway, her heart broke. She realized that Sam Carter's death would destroy these three men.

She stood outside the infirmary looking in for several minutes before she heard her name called out, "Cathy."

She looked up and saw Robbie and John Clark heading for her. "Robbie, what are you still doing up?"

"I could ask you the same question. You need to get some rest Cathy."

"Robbie, I'm fine! Besides, I want to wait this one out."

He looked into the room, "There are two other doctors in there. You need to rest." He then leaned over and quietly whispered, "Altman needs a break and he won't take one until you're asleep and Ding takes over."

She looked over her shoulder. She turned to her friend and nodded her head, "Okay… Are you going to stay down here?"

"Yeah, I might talk to some people."

"Do me a favor, and let me know as soon as she wakes up."

"Yes ma'am," he told her lightly.

"Thanks Robbie, I'll see you in a few hours… Come on Roy, we've been relieved of duty."

An hour later there had been no change in Carter's condition. Only two people noticed Hammond's entrance.

"Any change?"

Teal'c was the only one coherent enough to answer, "There is not General Hammond."

He looked at the three tired men who were all sitting or standing around her bed. "Gentlemen, you need to take a break. You know the nurses will contact you if there's any change."

Jack and Daniel looked up at Hammond, shocked that he would suggest something such as them leaving her side.

He knew these men weren't going to budge. They had never left each other's side when one of them was seriously injured. They hadn't when Teal'c had been brainwashed and they hadn't when Daniel had died. They weren't going to do it now.

"I'll get some coffee brought up here."

"Thank you, sir," Jack replied as he returned his attention to Sam along with the others.

Hammond watched the men silently before turning and heading over to the Vice President.

"Are all the teams as close as they are?"

"All the teams are tight… But SG-1 is special. They've been through more together than all the other teams… That's why they're so good."

"I've noticed something over the past few days," Robbie began as Hammond looked over at him. "Even though General O'Neill is no longer a part of SG-1, they all refer to him as being a member of that team."

Hammond allowed himself a small smile. "Everyone on this base associates SG-1 with those four," he explained as he pointed at the four individuals in the corner. "If pressed, Jack would probably tell you that he sends part of himself out there on every mission with SG-1."

The VP nodded his head, "I see… They really are something aren't they?"

Though he would probably never admit it, Hammond looked at the team he was the closest with and held a special spot in his heart. "Yes they are, sir," he acknowledged quietly.

Robbie accepted the answer. And though he hadn't seen them in action himself, he could tell that this team was quite formidable. He recognized it in their comfort with each other, their banter, their respect for one another, and most importantly, the loyalty he saw before him.

"Have they figured out what caused the explosion?"

"Officially no, but I spoke with Captain Warner about-"

"The gentleman who lost his leg?"

"Yes, sir. He was working on the piece of equipment that caused the explosion. They were working on integrating a power source with a piece of technology recovered from an abandoned planet. They thought it was a shield generator and they hooked it up to a naquada reactor. I don't exactly know how, but the generator started to draw large amounts of power from the reactor, that's when they paged Colonel Carter. My understanding is that the power drainage caused the capacitors between the two components to fail and lead to an overload in the naquada reactor. She was able to divert some of the excess energy and prevent the reactor from reaching a true critical mass… If it had, it probably would have brought down the whole mountain on the base."

Robbie listened to the unofficial report and learned how close he had come to dying, if not for Sam's efforts.

"Mr. Vice President, if you'll excuse me, there's a few phone calls I need to make and I need to check if we've had any success in contacting the Tok'ra."

Robbie nodded his head absently, "Of course."

He continued to think about the team that remained in the infirmary when he asked Clark a question, "What do you think of SG-1, Mr. Clark?"

John stepped forward to stand next to the Vice President as he continued to monitor the area around them.

"I think General Hammond did a very good job in putting this team together."

"Explain."

"SG-1, I believe, is aptly prepared for any situation they encounter when traveling through the Stargate. I wouldn't peg them all for the same team. But each one of them brings something to the table that is necessary for a first-contact team. General O'Neill was in special ops – he's a master of covert strategy and tactics. Teal'c is a Jaffa – he's familiar with Goa'uld tactics and their way of thinking. Combine those two and I'd say you could get yourself out of most any sticky situation. But then you also have Lt. Colonel Carter who is a scientist – from what I've seen and heard, she could get anyone out of any technical situation, she's very creative and ingenious. And with Dr. Jackson's expertise in linguistics, anthropology, and archaeology you can get away with offending the least amount of people and actually making allies."

He paused before continuing and commenting on the interactions he saw, "They are all very different people, and yet their service together has made them a very tight unit. They don't need words to understand what needs to be done, they have the confidence in one another that they'll carry out appropriate actions. For example, when we were on the Tok'ra home world and those Jaffa showed up… General O'Neill only had to say Teal'c's name before the two of us took off to go help out. And with respect to the banter between the team, even though it may seem unprofessional, it just shows you how much they know each other. It almost seems to me that they bait one another so that they'll laugh and keep themselves grounded. Which considering what depends on everyone here, it appears to work. I'll admit I was skeptical when I first met General O'Neill, but-"

"Who wasn't?" Robbie pointed out recalling the meeting in the conference room.

"Yes sir. But I don't know if I'd want any other man leading the flagship team for seven years or this base for the past three years. I don't think many could do a better job than he already has, sir."

TBC


	23. Awakenings

A/N: Three chapters in a weekend!! How exciting!! I hope you all enjoy them!

* * *

As Jack continued to stare at Carter, his mind went over Hammond's unofficial findings as to what had caused the explosion.

She had prevented the explosion from being much worse and more destructive. If not for her, there probably would have been more casualties and more serious injuries. But Carter had saved the day for a lot of people that day, and now here she was laying on a hospital bed fighting for her life while a machine breathed on her behalf.

He quietly spoke to the unconscious form, "We should have been there with you Carter."

Teal'c and Daniel looked at each other. It was Teal'c who finally spoke gently, "O'Neill, there is nothing we could have done to prevent this situation."

"I know," he resigned himself to that fact. "But she shouldn't have to be going through this alone…"

"She's not Jack… She's got us… And she's going to make it," he confidently told him.

"How do you know?" Jack asked him, hoping to receive some of the hope that his best friend had.

Daniel stared affectionately at the woman he considered to be his sister, "She doesn't know how to give up."

"Indeed."

Jack turned his attention back to Sam and stared at her. "Yeah..." He stood up to stretch his aching muscles and leaned over her form and whispered so only she could hear him, "You better not give up on me Carter… Not now," he pleaded with her.

As he stood back he thought of his last words. Things were different now, at least in his heart. He couldn't imagine losing her from his life. And while she wasn't the sole reason for him coming into work everyday, she was the primary reason why he would have a smile on his face after visiting her in her lab, or eating lunch with her and the rest of the team, or watching her give a presentation, or seeing her coming back from a mission in one piece.

He'd already lost one important person in his life over eleven years ago… He didn't want to let it happen again… Especially with her not knowing how much she meant to him.

He knew things would change and would have to. He just didn't know how.

He knew that he couldn't retire because that would mean he couldn't be here at the SGC while she continued to work. And that not knowing of where she was would make him worry too much.

She couldn't retire because she was too important to the program. Unfortunately, that didn't leave him with many options.

"I'll be right back," he told his friends as he decided to head to the restroom and splash some water on his face.

As he re-entered the infirmary he thought he saw her hand move ever so slightly. Not sure if it was real, he rushed to her bedside, "Did you see that?" he asked as he pointed at her hand.

Both men looked at him, "What?" as they followed his hand to her hand.

They stared at her hand waiting for any sign for several moments. Resigning himself that he had seen nothing Jack went to sit down and as he sat he looked at her face.

And there it was.

One intelligent, but tired, blue eye staring right at him.

"Carter!" he quietly whispered as he felt a weight lifted off his heart and soul.

"Sam!"

"Colonel Carter!"

As they all neared her side one of them called out, "Doc! Get over here!! She's awake!"

Dr. Brightman rushed out of her office and towards the last bed in the infirmary. "Gentlemen, I need to get in there," she told them as she pushed her way through.

Her voice softened and a smile graced her face when she saw Sam staring at her teammates. "Welcome back Sam!"

She tried to smile around the intubation tube protruding from her mouth. "You really worried us there for awhile… Do you remember what happened?" she asked her cautiously.

Sam nodded her head.

"Good…" Nancy Brightman turned to the three men who were crowding the bed with relieved smiles on their faces. "Gentlemen, I need you to give us a few minutes while I examine her."

Both humans were about to protest when they saw the pointed stare from the doctor. They looked to Sam who smiled at them letting them know she was going to be okay. "We'll be right over there," Jack told Nancy as he pointed to the entrance of the infirmary.

"Thank you gentlemen."

When they were out of earshot she turned to Sam and began checking her vitals and explaining to her what had happened.

"Sam, I want to keep you on the ventilator for the next few hours just to be sure, before removing it. I'm going to have do it under sedation." Sam's eyes went wide.

"I know, I know… But it's the safest way to remove it after having open heart surgery and a thoracotomy. I don't want to give you any more anesthetics and I can't risk you coughing and tearing any of the stitching," she explained. "I want you to rest the next few hours Sam, your body has been through a lot the past 18 hours and rest is the best advice for recuperation."

Sam nodded her head.

"Sam, I need to ask you something… Do you mind if I order those three to rest?" she asked as she pointed at the three men waiting impatiently at the door. "They've been by your side since they got back and they haven't slept."

Sam looked tenderly at her teammates. What else was there to expect from her family? She turned back to the doctor and gave her consent.

"Thanks… You're going to have to promise them that you won't scare them anymore or there won't be any changes in your health other than in the positive," she told her with a warm smile.

Both women smiled at each other. Nancy then turned to the door and motioned them over before turning back to her patient, "I'm really glad you're awake!"

"So how is she Doc?" O'Neill asked.

"She's going to be fine General. A few weeks and she'll be good as new!"

"I knew you'd pull through this Sam!" Daniel told her as he took hold of her uninjured hand.

"I am most pleased to see you awake and doing well," Teal'c stoically informed her.

"But she needs her rest. I'm going to give you fifteen minutes and then the Colonel's really going to need some rest… And so do you gentlemen-"

"We're no-" Daniel interrupted her.

"Gentlemen, you will rest for the next four hours and not be allowed back into the infirmary."

O'Neill pleaded, "Doc…"

"With all due respect sir, but I will speak with General Hammond and the President if I have to." O'Neill scrunched his face at the prospect of being ordered to stay away. She continued softly, "I assure you sir, she's going to be fine and not doing anything more than sleeping."

"Thanks Doc," he told her before returning his attention to their favorite scientist.

She nodded her head before returning to her office to make a few phone calls.

Ten minutes later Hammond joined the trio in the infirmary, just as relieved as they were.

"A lot of people are glad to know that you're going to pull through," he told her warmly. "We've tried getting a hold of the Tok'ra but with no luck. We sent a team through to their last known location but they had already cleared out of their base."

She stared at him quizzically.

Hammond noticed the doctor out of the corner of her eye and knew that she was about to kick them out. "We'll explain it to you later Colonel… I'm glad to see you awake!" he smiled at her. He then turned to SG-1, "And now Gentlemen, it's time for us to let the Colonel rest."

The three men grudgingly left the infirmary to catch a few hours of much needed sleep.

---

When SG-1 returned to the infirmary they saw a small crowd standing around her bed, consisting of the First Lady, the Vice President and Dr. Brightman.

Sam was the first one to see them enter the infirmary and made a comment to those around them, "And right on time!"

The three looked up and laughed at her remark.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked as they neared her bed. "Hey you can talk!" he happily pointed out.

"Yes sir," she told him warmly. "Dr. Brightman removed the tube half an hour ago."

"Why weren't we informed?" Daniel asked.

"Because you were resting," the doctor informed them.

"Yeah but-" Daniel began to protest.

Sam chuckled, "Relax guys, I'm okay!"

"We are most relieved," Teal'c informed them.

Everyone around the bed nodded their heads in agreement.

"A lot of people owe their lives to you Colonel," Robbie stated.

Sam looked down embarrassed at the praise, "I was just doing my job, sir."

"I think we need to change her job title, to Life Saver," Jack teased.

Sam laughed, "I was just following your orders sir."

He looked at her confused, "I didn't tell you to get yourself injured!"

She shook her head, "No. But you told me to make sure that the Alpha Site doesn't get blown up, sir," she reminded him with a smile.

A wide grin appeared on his face, "Oh yeah! I gave some pretty good orders didn't I?" he stated playfully.

"I only had a problem with one of them sir," she stated seriously.

They all stared at her. Only the Vice President smiled with his eyes, knowing where she was going with that statement.

"Huh?"

"I didn't mind you giving me the apple, sir, it was very tasty," she began, "But asking the Vice President to make sure I ate a meal?"

"Jack?" Daniel asked his friend as he stared at their scientist in horror.

"You didn't…" Cathy warned him.

Jack looked at the Vice President, "You told her sir?"

"I didn't think it was classified," he replied off-handedly.

He then turned back to Sam, "Look Carter… You know I was just watching out for you! You know how you get when you're playing with your doohickeys!"

She continued to glare at her commanding officer. She watched him squirm momentarily before the corner's of her lips turned up, "I know sir. It's alright, I actually had a very engaging talk with the Vice President… He actually understood what I was talking about… Sir."

O'Neill couldn't help but smile upon seeing the twinkle in her one eye.

---

Later that afternoon a small group of people was gathered in the conference room. "I'm glad I got to see this place," President Ryan told the pair of General's before him.

"I'm sorry about the deception-" Hammond began.

Ryan waved it off, "It's okay… I understand… Just make sure that this place runs smoothly!"

"We will sir."

"And if you guys need anything, just let me know!"

O'Neill grinned, "Well…"

"Jack!" Daniel stopped him.

He turned on his heels and asked innocently, "What?"

Daniel and Teal'c merely glared at him knowing that any request he would make would be a joke.

"Oh alright!"

"Sir, we need to leave soon," Agent Price informed him quietly.

He nodded his head and began saying his goodbye's, "Jack it was good seeing you… Don't lose touch!"

"Are you kidding? That little red phone on my desk only connects with you!"

Ryan turned to Hammond, "Is there anyway I can screen those calls?"

"Ha ha!" Jack mocked. "You guys can come back anytime!"

Ryan leaned over to Jack, "I don't think Andrea will let me! Too many unknown variables!"

"That's what makes it fun!" he pointed as he leaned away. "Oh and if you ever want to take over Daniel's job…'

Daniel shook his head in exasperation as he walked over to the First Lady.

TBC

Hallelujah!! She's alive!! But the ship hasn't sailed yet... maybe in a few more chapters... Oh and please let me know how much ship you would actually like to see...


	24. Adjustments

A/N: WOW!! I now know what it takes to get a lot of reviews, ask people if they want to see some ship! One of my reviewers suggested I send out an entire armada of JS ship! Unfortunately, there will be no armada, but neither will the ship be just a little rowboat. Most of my stories involving our duo deal mainly with what it takes for them to finally get together. But due to the demand for some serious ship, I will try my damndest to provide you with adequate amounts of ship and maybe we'll explore a potential relationship between them together!

But not yet!

* * *

That night as Air Force One was leaving Colorado's airspace, the President and First Lady were sitting in the solitude of his private suite. A somber silence had fallen across all those who had spent the past thirty-six hours with members of the SGC. They had seen an entire base mobilized in the face of a crisis. They had seen the sacrifices that SGC personnel made everyday they travelled through the Stargate. They had seen what life was like for those who defended their planet.

Cathy was staring out the window from the bed when she finally spoke, "He loves her, you know."

Jack looked over at her unsure what she was referring to.

When he didn't respond, she turned and looked at her husband. "Sam and Jack… They love one another."

"What?!" he asked shocked to hear her revelation.

"Didn't you see it?"

He shook his head, "No… Are you sure?"

She stared at him, "Yes."

"Are they in a relationship?"

"I'm told by a very close friend that one outside of their professional relationship does not exist."

Neither said anything as they crawled into bed. They had been lying in bed for several minutes before Cathy spoke again.

"Jack?"

"Yeah Cathy?"

"Is there anything you can do?"

He sighed heavily next to her, "Cathy… The military regulations are there to protect-"

"It's their love for one another that makes them so good at their job!" she pointed out to him.

"That may be, but I can't change the regulations," he tried to explain to her.

She leaned over and looked at him, "Jack, you're the President of the United States… They deserve this." She stared at him a moment longer before rolling over and going to sleep.

Jack Ryan lay there thinking about his friend and the base he ran. Trying to remember if he could see anything of what Cathy saw.

Finally after half an hour, he succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep for the remaining three and a half hours of their flight.

Several hours later they had landed at Andrews Air Force Base. President Ryan was just about to climb into his waiting limo when he stopped and turned to Agent Price.

"Andrea, I want the three of you to take the next three days off."

"Sir, we're-"

"Don't make me make it an order," he challenged her. "The three of you have been on duty for the past four days… If you keep arguing, I'll make you take a week off."

"Yes sir."

Jack hid his reaction to her response, wondering if her unwillingness to take a week of work was due to her nature or out of her desire protecthimself and his family.

"One other thing, Andrea… I want you to set up a meeting with Robbie, Tony and General Hammond once they're all back in town."

She nodded her head, "Yes sir."

"I want it off the books," he clarified for her.

She understood that they would be talking about the SGC. "I'll arrange it as soon as we get…" she paused and changed her answer when he glared at her, "… as soon as I come back to work."

"Thanks Andrea."

-

Four Days Later

"How's everyone doing General?"

Hammond smiled as he spoke into the phone."Better ma'am. Most of the injured personnel were discharged two days ago."

"And the critical cases?"

"Doing better and they've all been moved out of ICU, ma'am."

"That's good to hear," she sighed with relief. "How's Colonel Carter doing?"

"She's doing well…" he cautiously told her.

Being the astute woman that she was, she heard his hesitation, "But…?"

"Do you recall what happened to her face?"

"Yes, her right eye was swollen shut. Is everything alright?"

"The doctor's aren't sure, ma'am. They don't know if she'll be able to see out of her right eye," he began.

"What?!"

"Apparently she has a deep corneal abrasion… and since the accident, apparently a lot of scar tissue has started to accumulate around the injury."

"Are they going to operate?" she asked him as she turned on her doctor mode.

"They're discussing their options."

"Not anymore they aren't," she told him assuredly.

He was confused, "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I want to take the case. Can she be transported to Johns Hopkins?"

General Hammond was caught off guard, "Uh… I'm not sure ma'am… Ma'am, you don't-"

"I know. I want to help her and I know I can… Can you arrange it?"

He paused, "I'll see what I can do ma'am."

"I'll also need to contact her current doctors," she informed him.

"I'll have Major Davis call you with that information."

"Thank you General."

"Thank you ma'am," he emphasized really wanting to express his gratitude.

-

A few days later

"General, you ready to head over?"

Hammond and his guest looked up and seeing who was standing in his door stood up. "Good morning Mr. Secretary. I don't believe you've met Major Paul Davis."

"Sir."

"Ah… You're the third member of the junta?"

Davis swallowed and looked at Hammond who chuckled, "Ah yes sir."

"Relax. I've gotten over it. As long as you guys are running efficiently over there, I don't have any problems."

He smiled warily, "Yes sir."

"Sir, I wasn't aware you were heading over to the White House?"

"Yep. I'm meeting with the Vice President first, and then we're all meeting together."

Twenty minutes later Secretary Bretano and General Hammond walked into the White House. "Sir, do you know what our meeting is about?"

"Not a clue," he revealed asthey headed their separate ways. Hammond continued on to Van Damn's office and when he entered the office he was surprised at who was there.

"General Hammond. If you'll follow me," Andrea greeted him as she led him into the Oval Office.

Hammond stood at attention as he waited for President Ryan to finish his conversation on the phone.

"…Yes… Thank you Your Highness… I look forward to seeing you as well in a few days… Take care and say hi to your wife for me!" He hung up the phone and turned to the pair in his office.

"General Hammond. Thanks Andrea, that'll be all."

Andrea nodded as she walked out the door.

"Sir," Hammond greeted him unsure why he was in the President's office alone. He had been under the impression that he was only going to be meeting with Arnie and with the President, VP and SecDef later on.

"Have a seat," Ryan told him as he shook his hand and led him to the couches.

"Thank you, sir."

"So how've you been? Things going well at the SGC?"

Hammond nodded his head, "Yes sir, the investigation is wrapping up and clean-up at the Alpha Site is continuing."

"Good, good. Cathy told me that she wants to take care of Colonel Carter's eye."

"Yes sir. She offered her services when I informed her of the Colonel's condition. It was very nice of her, sir."

"Colonel Carter is one of the best officers in the military. And Cathy's one of the best eye doctors in the country… She's a wonderful person, very observant as well."

Hammond absently nodded, "Yes sir…"

Jack looked at him and smiled slightly, "You're probably wondering what you're doing here."

"Yes sir, I am."

Jack leaned forward, "I wanted to have a conversation with you about the SGC… Off the record."

"Yes sir. What would you like to know?"

He stared at the General in front of him, "I want your honest opinion and whatever you say to me will be strictly confidential."

"Yes sir," he replied even more confused by where this conversation was heading.

"Good… I don't know how exactly to word this… But what is the relationship between Jack and Colonel Carter?"

"Sir?"

He sensed Hammond's hesitation. "Look, I'm not trying to ruin any careers or anything… It's just that Cathy said something to me the other day and it got me thinking…"

"And what might that be sir?"

He leaned back against the cushions, "She said that Jack and Sam loved each other."

Before he could say anything more, George Hammond quickly jumped in to defend his people, "Sir I assure you that both of them-"

"Relax General… I was assured of that as well… I just want your honest opinion… I want you to set aside your professional relationship with them for the next few minutes… Do they love one another?"

Hammond stared at his commander in chief. "I don't know if they love one another romantically, they do care deeply for one another."

"More than the rest of their teammates?"

"Their relationship is a complicated one, sir… But yes."

"When did you first suspect?"

"On Jack's part, when Sam was host to Jolinar… For Sam it was when Jack was stranded on another planet and she redefined particle physics to get him back."

"Did you ever suspect them of having an affair?"

He quickly answered, "Never!"

"Why not?" he asked shocked at his sure response.

Hammond sighed, "Their respect for one another runs too deep… You see," he began, "They would never want to jeopardize each other's career, or the mission of the SGC. They both recognized each other's integral membership to the success of the program."

"Has it ever affected their duties?"

"No… And they've definitely been tested."

"Such as?"

Hammond thought back over the seven years he had served as their commanding officer. When he spoke it was quietly, "Jack had to kill her once…"

His eyes went wide, "What?'

"Colonel Carter had been taken over by an alien entity akin to a computer virus… It was channeling its power through her body and would have destroyed the SGC… Jack stopped it by shooting her with a zat twice…"

"Which kills…" Jack finished as he recalled what Daniel had told them of the weapon at the Tok'ra base.

He considered this little bit of information. "What affect does it have?"

"I think it's what made them such a good team, sir… Sir?"

Jack looked up, "Yeah?"

"May I ask what this is about?"

"I'm considering issuing an Executive Order for the SGC…"

"On?"

"That's what I need your help on… This country owes the SGC, and especially those two, so much… I want to make their lives just a little bit better… A little happier."

"What do you have in mind sir?"

"Changing the fraternization regs for the SGC."

"For the entire base?"

He nodded, "With a few caveats… Do you think it would affect the personnel and impede them from doing their duty?"

Hammond considered his response carefully. He had a feeling that a lot of potential happiness rested on his opinion. "Only positively sir… Everyone there knows what they are fighting for… They know how to make the tough calls, sir. I think it would boost morale up even more," he explained.

Jack nodded as he listened, "So you don't have a problem with this?"

"No sir."

Jack clapped his hands on his knees as he stood up, Hammond followed suit, "Good… Now I need your help to convince Robbie and Secretary Bretano."

Thirty minutes later they had been joined by the other two and Jack had explained his intentions.

"Robbie, what do you think?"

"It's not normal," he began.

"Nothing they do at that base is normal," Jack pointed out.

"Aren't the regulations there to protect them from having misguided priorities?" Tony asked. Having never served in the military, he understood the concept but he'd never had to live the life.

"Yeah," Robbie pointed out as he thought about the conversations he had had while with the SGC. "But in this case…"

"Yeah Robbie?" Jack asked impatiently.

"Colonel Carter said something to me when we were flying in the F-302… We all saw how efficiently they work when something's on the line… I don't know if you noticed, but when they were just going about their jobs, it was very relaxed and cordial… Fun almost… She told me that it was a defense mechanism for them, it was their way to not let the stress get to them… They take their cues from the commanding officer, from the SG team leaders, to section leaders, all the way up to O'Neill… They have a deep trust in one another to do the right thing when someone's life is on the line or an important decision has to be made… That base can't be micromanaged… I don't think it would be as successful if it had been."

He paused and then turned to General Hammond, "I don't think I ever told you, but you did a hell of a job running that base for seven years and keeping the rest of us alive."

"Sir-" he was about to protest the high praise.

"Colonel Carter told me the same thing… It was the team working in unison," he stated taking the words out of the General's mouth.

"Yes sir."

"But you had the leadership to let them run with it and gave them a good role model."

As Jack Ryan listened he developed an even higher respect for the General in front of him. He hadn't seen as much as Robbie had and developed such strong opinions of the base. "It's a leadership function," he whispered.

They all looked at him.

Noticing the silence he looked at the men in the room and explained, "By trusting them and giving them some latitude you knew that they would do everything to not betray that trust you gave them. They would strive even harder to show you that they were worthy of it… That's what my drill instructor told me at basic training."

"Look, those people live under an immense amount of stress. They know what's at stake…" Jack concluded.

All three men nodded in agreement.

"So no one has any problems with this Executive Order?"

No one disagreed with the proposed changes.

Jack nodded his head as he decided that being President did indeed have perks.

TBC

Yeah... The President has seen the light and the path is clear!! Move out, the ship is about to sail!! Estimated Time of Departure: Next Chapter!


	25. Positive Outlook

A/N: And the chapter we've all been waiting for...

* * *

"What'd Cathy say?" 

"Hi to you too Jack," Daniel said into his phone as he stood in the waiting room.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. What'd Cathy say? How's Carter's eye?"

"Dr. Ryan said the surgery went well. But Jack, she just came out of surgery, they won't be able to tell for a few hours."

"Yeah, I know," he stated dejectedly. "Has she woken up yet?"

"No they still have her in recovery," he informed him.

"Okay… Well I'm heading to DC tomorrow, the President wants me to brief the Joint Chiefs on the SGC."

"That'll be fun!" Danny offered.

"As fun as having to meet up with Anise again! Anyways, Hammond told me to take some time off and take in the sites of the area."

Daniel could see where this was going, "And you thought seeing Johns Hopkins' medical facilities would be a good place to visit!"

"I hear it's lovely there this time of year!"

"I hadn't heard that one!"

"Don't you read Daniel? It's in all the books!" he teased. He then brought his attention back to why he was calling, "Hey any word on when the Doc is going to release her?"

"Yeah, she's keeping her here 'til tomorrow afternoon. She wants her to stay through the end of the week though so she can check Sam's eye again before we have to head back to Colorado."

"What do you know? Reynolds is covering for me for the rest of the week!"

Daniel nodded his head, "How convenient!"

"Perks of being base CO and getting to do anything I want!"

-

"That'll be all, gentlemen," President Ryan told the assembled Joint Chiefs after they had questioned General O'Neill about the mission of the SGC. "Walk with me Jack," he called out across the table.

General O'Neill quickly gathered his notes and raced to catch up with his friend who was waiting at the doors of the Situation Room. "Yes sir?"

"Good presentation… Didn't know you had it in you, especially after the one you started a few days ago."

Jack O'Neill shrugged, "I have been working there for-"

"Let's be honest with each other Jack," Ryan began as he stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to face him. "You had Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson help you prepare the presentation, didn't you?"

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "They really are better at that stuff than I am!'

"You did fine, Jack," he reassured him.

"I'll let Daniel and Carter know they did a good job."

Ryan resumed his walk back to his office, "Actually now that you mention… I'd like for you and SG-1 to come by tomorrow night, there's a little presentation I wanted to make."

"Can I ask what it is concerning, sir?"

He nodded his head, "You can ask, doesn't necessarily mean I'll answer." He looked over at his friend with a sly grin, "You know, Executive privilege and all!"

Jack chuckled, "Yes sir. What time would you like us to be here?"

"Well, I'm having a State Dinner tomorrow night for the UK's Prime Minister and a few others. They'll all be here by 7 o'clock. So how about you and your people show up around 8 or so. I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to step out, I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all sir."

"Good! Now I have to get back to running this country, but speak to Agent Price before you leave and she'll set it all up."

"Yes sir, I'll see you tomorrow!"

-

"Jack are you sure you don't know anything about this?" Daniel asked as they passed through White House security.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Danny… Agent Price!"

"General. Colonel. Gentlemen," she greeted them as she entered the lobby and began to lead them to the Mural Room.

"You don't happen to know what this meeting is about do you, Agent Price?" Jack tried.

"Sir, even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you," she informed him.

He bobbed his head, "Right… Guess we just wait."

Half an hour later, Agent Price reentered the room and escorted the four to the Oval Office. When they got there the President, First Lady and General Hammond were waiting for them.

As Jack entered he whispered to Hammond, "I didn't know you were going to be here!"

He looked at him and smiled, "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

Jack looked back at the General confused before continuing on to the President and First Lady to greet them.

Jack Ryan leaned over his desk and picked up a White House folder before turning to SG-1 in front of him.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. And Colonel, my wife tells me that she's expecting you to make a full recovery. That is good news, for you and the rest of the world," he pointed out as Sam blushed slightly at his last comment.

"I asked you all here on behalf of the SGC… This nation and world owe each and every one of you who serve at the SGC so much. The world cannot repay you for what you do; you carry on with your duty knowing that you are making our world safe for our children. You are the unsung heroes of a planet who ask for nothing in return. You serve this planet selflessly, led by a sense of loyalty to one another, the planet, and future generations."

He looked over at his wife before continuing, "You have each sacrificed so much for the rest of us. We cannot adequately repay you for what you have given up… There is no value for that of a life saved. All I can and hope to do is make your lives just a little bit easier, a little happier… I know that everyone at the SGC will continue to perform their duties with the same tenacity and strength they have for the past ten years."

He paused and held the folder out to his old friend, "In there is an Executive Order I issued that became effective at noon today."

Jack O'Neill slowly opened it. Before he could begin to read it Ryan continued with his speech.

"This may be unorthodox, but you deserve this," he told them. The tone of his voice implied that he wasn't just referring to the collective 'you' applied for the entire staff of the SGC, it was a personal message from one friend to another.

"In essence, that Executive Order modifies a few Air Force regulations. Primarily, the one pertaining to the regulations prohibiting fraternization."

SG-1 stared pointedly at him at this revelation. Sam and Jack stole a quick glance at one another before looking back at their Commander in Chief.

Ryan stood even taller as he quoted the Executive Order, "'With the permission of a superior officer, in the same chain of command, two individuals in the same chain of command may pursue a relationship outside the confines of the military. The superior officer must deem that all parties involved can continue to operate effectively without endangering the mission of the SGC or hindering their ability to perform their duties. Military decorum is expected from all parties involved while on duty, enforcement to be carried out at the discretion of the base CO. It is so ordered this day…' You guys deserve this," he told them again.

SG-1 all turned to look at one another. Rather, Daniel and Teal'c stared at their other two teammates who just stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Neither one of them had ever expected this. They continued to stare into each other's eyes having their own silent conversation deciding how they wanted to proceed.

Jack finally quietly spoke without ever taking his eyes off Sam, "General Hammond…?"

Hammond smiled at the couple who was lost in each other's eyes. "Go ahead Jack. The President's right, you both deserve this and have shown that you can handle this."

Jack nodded his head absently as he and Carter both took a step towards one another. When they were standing face to face Sam reached out for his hand with her right hand.

They both stared at their hands as their fingers became intertwined with one another. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Have I ever told you that you have beautiful hands?"

She smiled slightly as she looked back up at his face, "No."

"Well, you do," he began.

They continued to stare into each other's eyes, just enjoying that simple act of staring into the eyes of someone you cared very deeply for.

As the moment dragged on, the others in the room watched on excitedly, waiting for one or the other to make the first move.

Realizing that they probably didn't need an audience, Cathy spoke up. "Dr. Jackson, would you mind explaining something to my husband and I?" she asked him as she led her husband to the other three men who then reluctantly turned their backs on the couple standing in the middle of the room.

They tried to carry on a conversation, but the furtive glances over their shoulders distracted them too much as they rocked back and forth on their feet.

Oblivious to the impromptu pow-wow that had formed in the other end of the room, Sam and Jack continued to stare longingly into each other's eyes.

It was Jack who finally broke the silence, "So do you want to go out sometime?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I'd love to… What did you have in mind?"

He grinned widely at her, "Well there's this great place by the Pentagon that's open late and serves the best Gyros?" he suggested.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "In a rush?"

"Hell yes! I've been waiting for our first date for a very very," he drew out the second iteration, "long time."

She smiled, "Me too."

And by mutual agreement they both leaned their heads towards one another and shared the first kiss of their relationship.

And for both of them it was everything that they had imagined as they let ten years of tension roll off their backs and allow their true feelings for one another be known. Their hands snaked around each other's bodies as they mentally recorded every sensation and tingle they felt course through their body.

Off to the side the other occupants in the room all smiled as they saw the couple passionately express their feelings for one another. After a minute of them kissing they started to feel a little awkward as they continued to kiss.

"Uh, should we say something?" Daniel timidly asked. As happy as he was for two of his closest friends, he was starting to feel uncomfortable. Especially when he glanced over his shoulder and saw their kiss deepen.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow while the other three looked unsure themselves. They weren't about to break up this union, besides they didn't know how they could stop them.

"Jack."

Not getting a response, Daniel called out a little louder, "Jack!"

Still no response. 'Okay try embarrassment,' he told himself as he took a deep breath before calling out one last time. "Jack! This is the Oval Office, get your own room!"

The intrusion worked as Sam and Jack pulled themselves away from one another only slightly. They looked up at the five other occupants in the room and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," Jack called out as he noticed that they had given them some space.

As they returned to the center of the room, Jack leaned over to Sam and whispered, "Just so you know, I'm probably going to ask you to marry me."

Sam nodded her head and smiled. She then looked up and whispered into his ear, "Just so you know, I'll probably say yes!" She then planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

TBC

Happy Dance!!! They are together!! I'm not sure how much more I want to take this story, but I feel obligated to my reviewers to give them lots more ship. So expect to see some more of their relationship!

Also, it will be awhile before I add some more to this story, so be pleased that I left you at least with the knowledge that our favorite characters are together!


	26. Start Spreading the News

A/N: This one is very short. Just something to hold you over...

* * *

Date: 2317 EST, July 30, 2008  
To: SGC Personnel  
From: General Jonathan T. O'Neill  
Subject: SGC Regulations

First and foremost, I would like to report the status of Lt. Colonel Carter. Dr. Ryan said the surgery went well and she is expecting her eyesight to fully recover. So to all you people in R&D, take a breather and relax!

We just got back from the White House where the President made a small presentation, SG-1 and myself received what he had to offer, on your behalf.

Before I go into the details of what he talked about, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work over the past week. You all made quite an impression with the President, VP, and SecDef. They were very pleased with the way they saw you all handle yourselves in a crisis. He has a lot of trust in us, and I know we won't let him or anyone else on this planet down.

In gratitude for our service, the President has issued an Executive Order that became effective at noon earlier today. The President in his great wisdom, and in consultation with General Hammond, has decided to amend a few Air Force regulations, applicable only to the SGC. The President has placed a great amount of trust in us by allowing this change in the regulations, let's not disappoint. The most significant amendment is to the fraternization regulation. It is now the policy of the SGC that relationships between individuals in the same chain of command will be allowed with the permission of a superior officer to both parties involved.

People, the President and General Hammond have put a lot of faith in us that we won't let our personal relationships interfere with us fulfilling our mission. To all those wishing to pursue a relationship, make sure that you will be able to make the hard calls if the situation arises before speaking with a commanding officer. To commanding officer's, please use your best judgment based on past experience between parties involved before granting permission.

The President felt that the work we do put us under an enormous amount of stress, but you guys impressed him by bearing it silently and proudly. That's why he wanted to reward us with this change, he wanted to make our lives 'just a little bit easier, a little bit happier.'

I know you will all continue to perform your duties to the utmost of your abilities, the way you have for the past ten years. So keep up the good work and don't let them down.

Sincerely,  
Jack O'Neill  
Brigadier General, USAF

P.S. I've recently been informed that the betting pool concerning Lt. Colonel Carter and myself can be settled.

P.S.S. But I'm guessing that no one is going to have guessed that our first kiss was in the Oval Office, so how about Sam and I keep the money?

TBC


	27. Alive

Three weeks later

"You sure you're going to be okay?"

Sam turned around and smiled at her CO, "Yes! I've been itching to get back to work!"

Jack stepped towards her and placed his hands on her upper arms, "Relax tiger! Remember the doctor only cleared you for light duty and Cathy said to limit your eye strain, so no reading lots and lots of backlogged reports!"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Yes dad!"

Jack couldn't help but smile at the tone of her voice. "This base needs you healthy, no sense in setting your recovery back by working too hard… And to make sure that that doesn't happen, I'm going to have to periodically bug you," he told her in an exhausted manner that belied his excitement at the idea of seeing her more often.

Sam leaned in and whispered into his ear, "How about you let me take care of myself here at work, and when we leave work tonight you can play doctor and I'll play the good patient."

She leaned back ever so slightly so she could see his reaction when he jerked his head towards her face and smiled at that idea.

"I'm so going-"

"Off world gate activation!"

"Damn it!" Jack called out as he tried to take his mind off what he had started to plan for that evening. He walked back to the door and turned to allow her past him, "Shall we?"

"Yes sir."

Jack tried not to flinch at the 'sir,' but after three weeks of her calling him Jack, it was hard to get used to that again. Once they'd been granted permission, they had laid down the ground rules for their behavior on base, especially because the way they conducted themselves would set the mark for any other couples on base.

They had decided that whenever doing anything work related, they would maintain a proper military relationship. But when they were alone and or just keeping each other company and not discussing work, they would allow themselves to behave as Sam and Jack, not Carter and Sir.

So right now, it was back to business, as they headed to the control room.

"What have we got Walter?" Jack called out as he entered a step behind Sam.

Walter looked at the computer screen as the Stargate came to life and illuminated the far wall of the embarkation room. "Receiving a signal… It's the Tok'ra sir."

Jack looked at Sam, "Well it's about time they return our call! Open the iris."

As they headed down to the embarkation room Sam asked Jack a question, "Do you think it's my dad?"

Jack shrugged, "The messages we sent right after were pretty insistent on them sending your father through."

Sam grimaced and nodded, "Think he won't notice the cast?"

Jack merely raised an eyebrow at her as they entered the Gate room.

"Right," she mumbled as they waited at the base of the ramp for their guest to arrive.

"Sam! Jack! What happened?" Jacob called out as soon as he stepped through.

Sam and Jack looked at each other and knew he was referring to their messages to the Tok'ra. Sam turned back to her father and raised her casted left arm, "Hey dad!"

His eyes went wide as he rushed down the ramp to her side, "Sam what happened? Are you okay?"

Jack spoke up first, "I'm fine Jacob, thanks for asking."

Jacob glared at his daughter's CO who sheepishly stepped back. "Sam what happened?" he asked again.

"Relax Dad, I'm fine now!" she began.

"NOW! What happened?" he asked picking up on her word choice.

Jack stepped forward again, "How about we do this upstairs?" he tentatively offered. They had a lot of explaining to do.

Once they were upstairs Jacob began his inquisition again, "So what happened?"

"Jacob! It's good to see you!" Daniel called out when he and Teal'c entered the conference room.

Jacob glared at them, they were keeping him from learning what had happened.

Sam redirected his attention to herself, "Dad! … About five weeks ago General Hammond informed President Ryan about the Stargate program."

"What? You're telling me that the President of the past ten months only recently found out about the Stargate program?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Jack explained to him the situation, about how they had decided to wait to inform the President rather than add one more ball for him to juggle.

"Anyways," Sam continued, "The President wanted to come out here and take a look at our operation and go off world-"

Jacob nodded his head impatiently, "Yes, I know, Per'sus informed me that he had met the President and during his visit a platoon of Jaffa had arrived. But what does that have to do with what happened to you?"

"Well, I didn't go with the main group to visit other planets, I stayed at the Alpha Site with Vice President Jackson to take him up in an F-302 and to help some scientists out. While we were there, there was an explosion… Nine people died," she added somberly.

"Oh my god!" he quietly let out. "Is that how you hurt your hand?"

Sam nodded.

Daniel and Jack looked at each other, was she going to leave it at that?

Jacob walked up to his daughter and wrapped her in his arms, "I'm glad you're okay!" he whispered into her ear.

"Uh… Sam?" Daniel tried to interrupt.

Jacob leaned back and looked at Daniel, "What?"

He didn't notice Sam shaking her head 'no' warning him not to tell her father more details.

"What she's failing to tell you, Jacob," Sam turned her attention to her CO, "is that she was seriously injured and we almost lost her."

Jacob stared at his daughter who was trying to protect him. He spoke quietly, "What happened?"

Sam sighed and explained to him her injuries. As he listened to the long list he tried to hide the fear at realizing that he had almost lost his little girl. Once she'd finished, he wrapped her in his arms again, "But everything's going to be okay right?"

Sam nodded her head, "Yeah, the doctors repaired all the damage and the cast will come off in two weeks."

"Actually the First Lady operated on her eye!" Jack proudly added.

"She did?"

Sam stared at Jack, wondering why he added that piece of information. He tried to look innocent, "What? We may as well tell him the whole story!"

Jacob looked between the two, "What story?"

"Why don't you have a seat Jacob?" Jack began.

"I'd rather stand," he sternly replied as he got a bad feeling that he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Right…" he looked over at Sam expectantly hoping for some assistance in continuing their tale.

Sam raised her hands in defense, "Uh uh… You wanted to tell him!"

He smirked at her before turning his attention back to a waiting Jacob. "Right… what happened? Well, you see the President and First Lady are old friends of mine. And when he, the VP and SecDef came here they were very impressed by what they saw here and how we did our jobs… And well… you see… Cathy, she's the First Lady," he explained as he stalled. "Cathy mentioned something to Jack, he's the President…"

"And…?" Jacob impatiently asked.

"And well you see Jack took that under advisement and spoke with a few people and they decided to change a few things around here… You know, kind of like a 'Thank You' from the whole world…" The members of SG-1 couldn't help but be amused by Jack's attempt to explain that he was now dating Jacob's only daughter.

"And…?'

Jack looked at Sam and pleaded with his eyes. He didn't think it was going to be this hard.

Sam smiled back at him and decided to take pity on him. "Dad, what the General is trying to say is that the President issued an executive order concerning the SGC that amended the regulations on fraternization between personnel."

Jacob was confused, "Why?"

"Because I love Jack," she simply told him as if it was common knowledge.

Jack's head shot up, "You love me?" They had yet to declare their love for one another.

Sam turned to the man she loved and smiled tenderly at him, causing his heart to melt, "Yeah."

Jack stepped towards her and took hold of her hands. He was lost in her eyes for several moments before Jacob stood just behind his daughter and glared at the pair.

"I l-" he stopped though when he saw Jacob's eyes flash. "Whoa!" he exclaimed.

Jacob and Selmak rarely ever let their eyes flash. Usually when one stepped forward they always lowered their heads, not flash their glowing eyes.

"Do you have a response?" the deep metallic voice of Selmak asked.

Jack looked at Selmac and saw what looked like the hint of a smile. "Yeah…" he then looked at Sam, "I love you Sam."

As they shared a short, but passionate kiss, Jacob lowered his head and when he looked up he was grinning happily.

When they pulled themselves apart from each other, they turned to her father. Needless to say Jack was quite surprised to see Jacob's smile.

Jacob enveloped the pair in a hug, "I'm really happy for the two of you!"

Jack cautiously wrapped one arm around Jacob as he looked at Daniel and Teal'c to see if they knew what was going on.

"So Daniel did I win?" Jacob asked with a wide grin as he released his daughter and her boyfriend.

Daniel finally let the smile on his face show, he couldn't wait to see the surprise on his friends' faces. "No… actually no one did."

"Really?"

"Yep! Over five hundred bets, and not one person guessed it!" Daniel told him equally surprised.

"Where was it?"

"Daniel?" Jack asked his best friend.

"Jack?"

"What is he talking about?"

Jacob turned to him and calmly answered, "The betting pool on where your first kiss would be. So where was it?"

"You entered that pool?" Sam asked.

Jacob nodded his head, "Yeah, so where was it?"

Sam and Jack looked at each other as they processed what his involvement in the pool was implying.

"So you suspected…?" Sam asked.

"It was pretty obvious you two!" he teased them. "So are either of you going to tell me where your first kiss was?"

Sam and Jack were still too shocked to answer his question. Daniel who was enjoying himself immensely, answered the former General on their behalf. "The Oval Office."

Jacob's eyes went wide, "You guys kissed in the Oval Office? In front of the President? Are you guys crazy?"

Before they could answer him, Siler walked in, "Sir. Ma'am, we're having a few problems with the Gate dampeners."

Sam looked at her CO, who nodded his head. "Thank you, sir. Let's go see what you got Siler," she told him as she walked beside him and he explained the situation.

Jack continued to watch Sam's retreating form until it was out of sight. He had a happy look to his face the entire time, it only disappeared when he looked around the room again and saw Jacob.

"So you kissed my daughter in front of the President?"

"And the First Lady and General Hammond," Daniel happily added. He was definitely not going to miss this chance on making his friend squirm, not after all the teasing he had taken in the past ten years.

Jack turned to Daniel and glared at him, "Thanks Daniel! Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Actually I-"

"Daniel!"

"Perhaps it is best if we leave Daniel Jackson," Teal'c turned to Daniel as he led him out of the conference room.

Jack was relieved to see the antagonist of the situation leave. That is until he realized he was alone with Jacob and Selmak. He turned to him and offered a goofy smile, "Hey!"

"So you're dating my little girl?" Jacob asked in a mildly threatening, yet teasing, tone.

Jack gulped, Jacob may have acted one way in front of his little girl, but when it was just the two (three if you counted Selmak) of them things might be a little different. "Yes sir."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Jack, how long have we known each other?"

"Eight years, give or take…"

"Right and in the past seven years you haven't called me 'Sir' once," he pointed out.

Jack contorted his face, "Well yeah… But…"

"But now you're dating my daughter? My only daughter?" he emphasized.

Jack swallowed the lump in the back of his throat. "Yeah."

"Relax Jack. I know how you guys feel about each other. You make her happy. That's all I want for Sam. I'm glad you guys were finally able to find a way to one another."

Jack was visibly relieved as he smiled, "Thanks, me too."

"So how'd it happen?"

Jack led Jacob into his office to explain everything that had happened and how they had charmed the President and his entourage. 

"So Jacob, now that you're here, I was wondering if I could ask you something?"

"Sure what is it?"

"I want to ask Sam to marry to me."

"When?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders, "Sometime soon I think… I just know that I want to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her."

"You just better make sure you wait to marry her so I can be there and walk my daughter down the aisle," he told him with a smile.

Jack smiled happily back, "Right!" He then leaned over his desk and pretended to write himself a note, "Make sure Father in Law can attend wedding."

TBC 


	28. Carpe Diem

That night SG-1, a very grown up Cassie, and Jacob Carter had gathered at Jack's house to celebrate their lives. 

"Anyone else want another drink?" Cassie asked as she stood up to go inside and refresh her own drink.

"Do you have to say that so nonchalantly?"

"Why Jack? Does it make you feel old knowing that I am now of drinking age?" Cassie teased him.

Jack didn't bother dignifying that with a response and instead put in his order for another beer.

"I'll have a whiskey neat," Jacob called out.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Sam looked at the others and then back at her father, "I thought you didn't drink anymore because of Selmak."

Jacob shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah normally I don't… She kills the buzz, but I haven't had a drink in a long time and I miss the taste of a smooth whiskey."

Jack stood up, "Then I have just the thing for you if you're looking for taste." Jack followed Cassie into his house. He returned five minutes later with a bottle and two glasses.

"Ireland's finest – Jameson. This is the good stuff, they don't export this, you can only get it there," he explained as he poured two fingers for each in the low-ball glasses. He held up his own glass, "Cheers!"

Jacob gladly returned the salute as he sipped the fine aged whiskey. "Ah… That's it!"

Jack happily sauntered back to Sam's side. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Trying to get on his good side?"

"Remember he will someday be my father-in-law," he told her reminding her of what they'd told each other in the Oval Office.

"Yes I know," she told him as she gave him a short kiss on the cheek. "And I'm looking forward to it!"

"Me too," he told her as he took hold of her hands and played with them.

As the conversation continued on among this tight family Jack's hands continued to play with Sam's. As his hands kept roaming over her hands he kept feeling the ring she wore on her right hand – the one her father had given her on her eighteenth birthday. It was a simple ring with an oval emerald, her birthstone, in a gold setting flanked by two small circular diamonds.

Sam was sitting in his lap laughing at a comment made by Teal'c.

Jack just watched her laugh and enjoyed the sight. A few weeks ago he had been terrified that he would never see that look on her face again. And now here she was, wrapped in his arms enjoying life and everything it had to offer them.

After an hour Sam and Jack found themselves alone outside. Sam was leaned up against Jack looking at the night sky. Jack just stared at her beauty, enraptured by the way she looked under the full moon.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful in my life," he told her quietly.

Sam tore her gaze from the stars to the man she loved. She smiled at him tenderly as she brought her right hand up to his face and traced the lines of his chin as she brought it in for a kiss.

She really did love this man, she couldn't imagine herself with anyone else. "I love you."

Jack smiled, "I love you too." Now that they had declared their true feelings for one another, he couldn't get enough of saying it or hearing her say it.

She leaned back against him as Jack wrapped his arms around her and held her hands. They sat there silently enjoying the moment as they forgot about everything else in the galaxy. They left the troubles of the SGC behind, the Goa'uld, their allies, their duties; they left it all behind and just lived in that moment.

And Jack seized that moment.

"Sam…"

"Yes," she replied as she continued to stare up at the stars.

"You know I want to marry you, right?"

She smiled, "Yeah."

"Well I was wondering," he began as he slid the ring off her right hand. "Your dad gave you this ring, right?"

"Yeah," she was slightly confused as to what he was doing.

"I was talking with your dad earlier, he told me that it was originally your mom's. He said it had brought them good times. He gave it to you when you started on your own path. I doubt he thought it would take you to different planets," he added lightly. "I don't want you to forget who you are, because that's the person I fell in love with… But I was wondering if you would move it to your other hand to signify the start of a new path, as my wife?"

Jack held his breath as he held the ring at the edge of her left ring finger.

Sam looked down at their hands and closed her eyes. When she opened them a tear of joy raced down her cheek. She placed her right hand over his and slid the ring onto her finger. She turned to face Jack.

"Yes!" she whispered to him before pressing her lips to his.

Their passion for one another reached new heights in that kiss, the knowledge that they were now promising the rest of their lives to one another released all inhibitions and insecurities they had for their blossoming relationship.

When they stopped they leaned their foreheads against one another, "Thank you so much!"

"Are you kidding? Thank you! You just made me the happiest man on the planet!"

"Just the planet?" she teased.

"Well okay… maybe this side of the galaxy!" he teased her back.

"I don't know, there are going to be a lot of broken hearts out there now that I'm off the market! You might be the happiest in the galaxy," she told him seriously.

Jack nodded his head, "That may be true… Of course none of those others guys had a chance… I mean seriously, how could you resist my good looks and charm."

Sam nodded her head and smiled, "Yes, how could I?"

Jack began to rise, "Come on, let's go tell the family."

She walked next to him and stopped just before they re-entered the house, "Jack, did you know you were going to propose to me tonight?"

He shook his head, "Nope… The moment just seemed right."

"And the ring?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I improvised, but I meant what I said."

She smiled warmly at him, "I know."

"Oh, by the way. When do you want to get married? Because I promised your father that we would make sure he would be there."

"You asked my father?"

"I'm kind of old fashioned like that," he told her.

"That's so sweet!"

He quickly brought his finger up to her mouth to silence it. "Shhhh! Don't let anyone know… I'm a General!" he told her as if it was a classified secret. "So how about in a couple of months?"

"Sure," she told him happily as she led him to the calendar in the kitchen. She flipped ahead to October. She smiled when she saw which days fell on a weekend, "How about the 18th?"

Jack looked at the calendar and smiled as well. "Perfect!"

Both of them couldn't help smiling widely knowing that each of them knew the significance of the date as they entered the living room.

"So Jacob, you going to be in town on October 18th?" Jack called out happily.

Jacob stared at him confused. He then looked at his daughter and saw their hopeful faces. He tilted his head as he looked down at her hands. He smiled when he saw the ring on her left hand. "I think I can arrange that," he told them as he got up and went to hug the happy couple.

Daniel, Teal'c and Cassie all looked at one another unsure what they were talking about. "Uh guys?" Daniel called out as the designated spokesman.

Jack looked at Daniel and then at Sam in a contemplative manner, "Should we invite them?"

Sam played along, "I don't know. It might be rude considering we work with them and Cassie stays with me when she's on break..."

Jack's face lit up, "Can we invite Jack and Cathy?"

Sam chuckled, "Sure, don't hold your breath for a yes… He is running for the Presidency," she pointed out.

"We can still invite him to the wedding, you know, kind of like a thank you because-"

They both had the wind knocked out of them as Cassie nearly tackled them to the ground in excitement! "Oh my God! This is so great! I'm so happy for you both! Lemme' see the ring!" she demanded as she lifted Sam's casted arm.

"Wait, this is the ring you've always had," Cassie noted in confusion as she looked up at Sam and Jack.

Sam looked at Jack's face as she explained, "Different hand, different path."

Once the congratulations were dispensed with and everyone had calmed down they sat down in the living room.

"So why so soon?" Jacob asked.

"It's our anniversary of sorts," Jack began.

And Sam finished for him, "We first met eleven years ago on the 18th in the SGC conference room."

Jacob was relieved, for a second there he thought that perhaps they had been carrying on a relationship against the regulations.

Daniel spoke up, "You remembered the date Jack?"

Jack scoffed at the idea of not remembering, "Of course, it's not every day a Captain challenges you to arm wrestle!"

The End

... I think! I've been trying to come up with a few more chapters to this story and bringing Jack and Cathy back into it, but nothing seems to be working. That and I don't think I write ship all that well...

So I hope that was enough ship for all you fans. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing this. And thank you to everyone who took the time to let me know what they thought of this story and helped me out by pointing out inconsistencies or errors. I appreciate it all!

I promise you that if I find the right scene I will write it out for you all, but don't hold your breath! (I don't want to be sued by anyone suffering from a lack of oxygen!)


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